Zahl oder Ähre

Etymology
lit. '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 ) had ears on them, and the phrase must go back to that time.

Phrase

 * 1)  heads or tails

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.