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1 Pfennig - Albert III the Pious
| Issuer | Bavaria, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1438-1460 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.41 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | An uncial Gothic letter 'A', serving as the initial of Duke Albert (Albrecht) III, is centrally positioned in the field, flanked on each side by a small ring or annulet. The design is rendered in the simple, bold style characteristic of mid-fifteenth-century Bavarian small coinage, with no surrounding legend. The flan retains the four pinched indentations at the edges consistent with the hand-hammered production technique. |
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| Reverse lettering | A |
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| Additional information |
Albert III ruled Bavaria-Munich during a period when the duchy's coinage was fragmenting badly — competing branches of the Wittelsbachs were each striking their own pfennigs, and the resulting monetary confusion prompted periodic inter-ducal agreements to standardize weights and fineness. The billon composition here reflects chronic silver shortages that plagued southern German minting throughout the mid-fifteenth century, driving alloy content down across successive issues.
Witt#172 is among the more precisely attributable pieces in this notoriously difficult series, where die-matching and hoard provenance often do more work than any single reference.