1 Pfennig - Henry II

Henry II of Hesse ruled during a period when the Landgraviate was locked in near-continuous feudal conflict with the Archbishop of Mainz and neighboring dynasties, and the coinage of his reign reflects a fragmented monetary environment where small silver issues circulated alongside a chaotic mix of regional denars. At 0.29 g, this pfennig sits at the extreme lower threshold of viable silver coinage — a consequence of decades of debasement pressure across the mid-Rhenish minting sphere rather than any single policy decision.

The "var." designation against Schütz II#222.1 suggests a die variant not fully catalogued, which is unsurprising for issues of this weight class, where die life was short and punch combinations inconsistent.