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1 Pfennig - Henry I
| Issuer | Hessen, Landgraviate of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1263-1308 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Half-length frontal effigy of Landgrave Henry I, depicted in a schematic, stylized manner characteristic of medieval German bracteate-related coinage. The figure is shown holding a sword upright in the right hand and an imperial orb in the left, symbolizing secular authority. The bust is rendered in crude but expressive relief, with facial features indicated by simple pellets and lines. The field is plain, with no legend present. |
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| Reverse description | Frontal bust set beneath a tripartite arcade of three rounded arches, with a central tower rising above the middle arch and two cross-topped flags or standards flanking the composition on either side. The architectural motif is rendered in the rough, schematic style typical of late 13th-century Hessian hammered pfennigs. The relief is shallow and the design elements, though abbreviated, evoke a fortified gateway or city gate. No legend is present in the field. |
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| Additional information |
Heinrich I of Hessen ruled a territory only formally elevated to a Landgraviate in 1264, one year into the range of this issue, making the earliest strikes technically contemporaneous with the founding act of the polity itself. The thin bracteate-style pfennigs of this region and period were notoriously short-lived in circulation — their fragility made recoinage frequent, and surviving specimens in any condition are genuinely scarce.