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1 Pfennig 'Ewiger pfennig' - Otto of Lonsdorf and his predecessors
| Issuer | Bishopric of Passau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1254-1451 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | A wolf passant to the left occupies the central field, rendered in a schematic medieval style characteristic of episcopal bracteate and pfennig coinage. A crozier, the heraldic emblem of the Bishop of Passau, is depicted to the right of the animal. The design is contained within an irregularly shaped flan typical of hammered coinage of this period. No legend or inscription is present. The striking is crude, consistent with the long-running 'Ewiger Pfennig' issue spanning nearly two centuries. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (1254-1451) |
| Additional information |
The "Ewiger Pfennig" — literally "eternal penny" — refers not to a single die but to a monetary convention adopted by several episcopal mints in the German-speaking lands, whereby the bishop renounced the traditional practice of periodic currency recalls and recoinage. Those recalls had functioned as a stealth tax: holders were forced to exchange old coins for new at a loss. Otto of Lonsdorf, Bishop of Passau from 1254, was among the ecclesiastical lords who formalized this arrangement, trading a reliable revenue stream for political goodwill among merchants and townspeople.
The nearly two-century attribution window reflects genuine continuity of type rather than cataloging imprecision.