Currencies/Bohemian heller
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Introduction
The Bohemian heller was a small coin denomination used in the medieval and early modern Kingdom of Bohemia. It was derived from the South German Haller pfennig, first minted in the city of Hall in Swabia in the 13th century. In Bohemia, the heller became the lowest-value coin and served primarily as small change in local and regional trade.
History
The heller was introduced in Bohemia during the Middle Ages as part of a broader European tradition of minor copper and billon coins. Originally valued at half a pfennig, the heller was widely minted and circulated in towns and rural markets throughout Bohemia. Over time, however, its value declined through repeated debasement, and by the late Middle Ages the coin had become a token currency of very small worth.
Although its importance diminished, the name continued to be used in everyday reckoning. Larger coins such as the Prague groschen were measured in multiples of hellers, making the denomination a crucial building block of the Bohemian currency system.
Coins
Bohemian hellers were typically struck in copper or billon, with low weight and small diameter. Early issues sometimes bore simple symbols such as a cross or the Bohemian lion, but the designs were often crude due to the coin’s minor role in the economy. Despite their modest appearance, hellers circulated widely among peasants, merchants, and artisans as indispensable small change.
Currency
2 hellers = 1 pfennig
12 pfennigs = 1 schilling
60 pfennigs = 1 Prague groschen
This system placed the heller at the very base of the Bohemian monetary hierarchy.
Legacy
The medieval Bohemian heller gradually disappeared as inflation and monetary reforms rendered it obsolete. Nevertheless, the name “heller” survived for centuries and was revived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1892 as the subdivision of the krone, where 100 hellers equalled 1 krone. The historical Bohemian heller remains significant as an early example of copper coinage and a symbol of the long continuity of Central European monetary traditions.