Teutonic Order Schilling

The Teutonic Order's schilling, minted during their fraught years in Prussia, often featured the order's black cross on one side, a design that doubled as a battlefield emblem and a coin.

These silver pieces were struck in cities like Marienburg, funding the order's campaigns against Polish forces from 1410 onward. Mintage varied by year, but records are spotty—many were likely melted down in later conflicts. The coins' weight, around 1.5 grams, reflected the era's economic pressures, with purity sometimes dipping due to wartime shortages.

As for myths about their supposed curses, I've handled enough to know they're just silver, not sorcery. We don't know exactly how many survive today; inventories burned in various European wars.

That said, spotting a well-preserved one still gives a quiet thrill, even after three decades in this trade.