1 Scherf

Erfurt in 1500 sat in a peculiar administrative position — nominally under the Archbishop of Mainz yet functionally autonomous enough to strike its own municipal coinage. The Scherf, a half-pfennig denomination, occupied the absolute bottom of the local monetary hierarchy and would have passed through hands too poor to leave written records of their transactions.

At 0.18 g, the silver content borders on nominal. These were struck by the thousands and survived by almost none.