Matza token (unleavened bread token) of community

This token is a token issued by a given Jewish community giving the right to a ration of unleavened breads (matzot) for the Pessah holiday, distributed to needy families as part of communal mutual aid. The manufacture and free distribution of matzot to the poor (maot hittim) were a charitable obligation assumed by community institutions before the holiday. These tokens, struck in lead or brass, generally bear the weight or number of matzot due and the name or emblem of the issuing kehilla. They fall under Jewish paramonetary numismatics and document the mechanisms of internal assistance of Central European communities.