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Obol or Heller

Issuer Hagenau, City of
Year 1600-1612
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Currency Pfennig
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Obverse description A five-petalled rose occupies the central field, its petals rendered in relief with a granulated or beaded centre, enclosed within a beaded inner circle. The overall design is characteristically simple, as befitting a small hammered billon or silver Heller of the period. The irregular flan and hammered technique result in a slightly uneven strike, with the beaded border partially visible around the circumference.
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Reverse description Plain, uniface reverse with no design, legend, or device; the flan shows only the natural texture and surface irregularities characteristic of hammered coinage, with several incuse impressions visible, likely the result of contact with the obverse die during striking.
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Additional information

Hagenau held status as a Free Imperial City within the Alsatian Decapolis, the loose confederation of ten towns that collectively negotiated privileges directly with the Habsburg emperors. This tiny silver piece was struck during a period when the city's autonomy was increasingly pressured — the Thirty Years' War would begin just six years after this series ended, and Hagenau would never fully recover its independent character afterward.

The heller denomination had roots in the coinage of Schwäbisch Hall, and its name followed the coin across the German-speaking world long after the original Hall issues ceased to define it.

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