Zahl oder Ähre

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German

10-Pfennig-Stück mit Eichenlaub – 10-Pfennig coin with oak leaves
10-Pfennig-Stück der Weimarer Zeit mit Ähren – 10-Pfennig coin from the Weimar period with ears of corn

Etymology

Literally, “number or ear of corn”. The symbol on the back of the Pfennig coins did not represent ears of corn, but oak leaves. Ears of corn were in fact shown on the number side (around the number). However, the backs of some older Pfennig coins (e.g. in the Weimar Republic) had ears on them, and the phrase must go back to that time.

Phrase

Zahl oder Ähre

  1. (archaic) heads or tails (used principally when flipping a 10-Pfennig coin)
    • 1988, Siegbert Hentschke, Grundzüge der Digitaltechnik, Vieweg & Teubner, page 9:
      Wirft man beispielsweise mit einem Geldstück eine [sic] der gleichverteilten Ereignisse "Zahl" oder "Ähre", so entspricht dies der Information von genau 1[bit].
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 2012, Frank Schulz, Onno Viets und der Irre vom Kiez, Kiepenheuer & Witsch:
      Aal oder Zähre, nicht Zahl oder Ähre. In Aalkoog sagst du Aal oder Zähre. Und Zähre ist ’n alter Ausdrück für Träne.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 2021, Martin Conrath, Das Archiv des Teufels – Roman aus der Zeit des Kalten Krieges, Gmeiner:
      In Zeitlupe holt er eine Fünfzehn-Kopeken-Münze hervor. »Zahl oder Ähre?«.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

  • The phrase seems to have gone out of use since the introduction of the euro. Non-German cent coins obviously do not show the oak leaf symbol. Even with German ones it is now only on the 5-cent coin, which is rarely used for flipping. Finally, two acorns have been added to the symbol, making it even more obvious that it does not represent ears of corn.

See also

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia