The Heller Was a Coin Named After a German Town
A heller was a small European coin. It circulated for seven hundred years and survived into the Czech Republic's currency.
A heller was a small coin used across central Europe. It takes its name from Schwäbisch Hall in Germany, where it was first minted in the thirteenth century. It became a unit of Austria-Hungary and later of Czechoslovakia, and the Czech *haléř* survived as a hundredth of a koruna until it was withdrawn in 2008.
- A small central European coin. *A copper heller.*
- Haléř — the Czech form. *A hundred haléřů.*
- Heller as a surname. *A famous Heller.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | heller | A single heller. |
| Plural | hellers | Ten hellers. |
| Czech | haléř | Czech haléř. |
| Related | koruna | One koruna. |
| Related | pfennig | A German pfennig. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The heller was minted from the 1200s.Schwäbisch Hall.
- A hundred haléřů made a koruna.Czech currency.
- The subunit was withdrawn in 2008.Prices are now rounded.
Coins named after places
- Heller — from Schwäbisch Hall
- Thaler and dollar — from Joachimsthal
- Florin — from Florence
- Guinea — from West Africa
- Rand — from the Witwatersrand
From German *Häller*, short for *Haller Pfennig*, a penny of Schwäbisch Hall, where the coin was first struck.
Is the heller still in use?
No. The Czech haléř was the last survivor and was withdrawn from circulation in 2008.
Why are so many coins named after towns?
Because coins were minted locally and traders identified them by their source, which then became the coin's name.