As the Black Plague spread across Europe, often there were villages, estates or districts were isolated from general population, because trhey were
hit especially hard by same plague.
Thus, thy had to, as the lepers of old. keep a distance from the rest of society. They could from a distance, call out their needs to merchants
outside their precincts.
THe seller could leave the merchandise in a given location for pickup...but how to pay for the goods?
Well, this was provided for by "plague stones". Plague stones were stones whic had a hollow carved in them, which was a reservoir for apple
cider vinegar.
The people receiving the goods simply placed coins in the vinegar bath, which was believed to sanitize the coins. THere are many examples still
existent in the UK, and still other occasionally found during excavations.
A side benefit... shiny clean coins. An example shown below..
