which must not be undercut in order to ensure unrestricted convertibility of the coins within the contract area.
In later centuries, larger denominations of higher value were introduced, such as the groschen (grossus) and, in the Alpine region, the Kreuzer.
Attempts at standardisation concentrated on the new, larger denominations and no longer on the pfennig, which basically remained a state coin of only regional significance.
In Germany, the pfennig was only successfully unified again in the 19th century, initially through the Prussian small coinage reform of 1821 for the various small coins in the Prussian provinces, and then through the second Imperial Coin Act of 1873.
There was no longer any uniformity in weights and fineness as there had been in the Carolingian monetary system.