12 Heller

Aachen's heller denominations in the second half of the 18th century reflect the city's stubborn insistence on maintaining its own coinage rights long after most smaller German states had surrendered them to larger neighbors. The Free Imperial City struck these pieces under increasingly precarious political circumstances — French forces occupied Aachen in 1792, and the city was formally annexed into the French Republic in 1798, the same year this type ceased production.

The end date is not coincidental. Revolutionary France systematically abolished local coinage across occupied territories.