Catalog
1/2 Brakteat - Harald 'Bluetooth'
| Issuer | Denmark |
|---|---|
| Year | 958-985 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered (bracteate) |
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| Obverse description | Within a raised border, four capped vertical strokes with distinctive forked or splayed bases occupy the central field, the two innermost strokes conjoined to form a composite monogram device. A pair of conjoined crescents arches above the group, while a small cross appears below at the base of the design. The composition is rendered in bold, deeply struck relief characteristic of early medieval Danish bracteate coinage, with no surrounding legend. The entire design is contained within a plain raised rim, and the thin fabric of the flan exhibits the characteristic irregular outline of a hammered half-bracteate. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Harald Blåtand unified Denmark and, according to the Jelling stones, "made the Danes Christian" — a political act as much as a religious one. These bracteates, struck from a single die on wafer-thin flans, represent Denmark's earliest indigenous coinage, issued when Scandinavian rulers were only beginning to adopt minting as an instrument of authority rather than relying on hack-silver by weight.
Hauberg 1 is the foundational reference for Danish bracteate coinage. At 0.25g, the half-bracteate format pushed the limits of what silver could carry before becoming structurally unusable.