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1 Pfennig - Martin of Krenkingen
| Issuer | Abbey of Reichenau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1492-1508 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Cahn Ko#123 |
| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a heraldic shield bearing a plain cross quartering the escutcheon into four equal compartments, characteristic of the arms associated with Reichenau Abbey. Above the shield, a small abbatial mitre or decorative ornament surmounts the charge, lending an ecclesiastical character to the device. The flan is irregular and slightly ragged at the edges, consistent with hand-hammered medieval bracteate-style coinage. No legend is present; the design relies entirely on the heraldic emblem to identify the issuing authority. The relief is low and somewhat worn, typical of small-denomination silver pfennigs of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse of this hammered pfennig is essentially blank or shows only incuse impressions of the obverse design transferred through the thin silver flan during striking, a feature common to uniface or near-uniface bracteate-type issues of the period. The surface displays natural die flow lines and flan irregularities with no deliberate reverse design or legend. The plain, unworked field confirms the coin's classification as a simple, low-denomination circulation piece intended for local ecclesiastical and regional commerce within the Abbey of Reichenau's domain. |
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| Additional information |
The Abbey of Reichenau, on its island in Lake Constance, had held minting rights since the Carolingian period, but by the late fifteenth century the institution was in steep economic decline — its monastic community shrinking, its debts accumulating. Abbot Martin of Krenkingen governed during this difficult contraction, and these tiny silver pfennigs represent some of the last coinage struck under abbatial authority before Reichenau's minting privileges became effectively dormant.