Austrian Vorarlberg Groschen

The Vorarlberg Groschen was typically struck with silver sourced from the region's own mines, a practical choice that kept coinage local amid the Holy Roman Empire's tangled politics.

This made sense for a borderland like Vorarlberg, where trade with Switzerland and Germany demanded reliable currency. The coins usually bore the arms of the local counts or Habsburg rulers, simple designs that varied by mint—often Bregenz or Feldkirch. Planchets were hammered by hand, resulting in irregular shapes that reflect the era's rudimentary techniques.

We don't know exact mintage figures; records from that period are scarce, likely destroyed in later conflicts. What survives shows these groschen as everyday money, not treasures.

One oddity: they sometimes turned up in hoards far from home, as if the coins themselves were wandering the Alps.