Bracteate Pfennig - Frederick II of Walchen Friesach

Frederick II of Walchen served as Archbishop of Salzburg from 1270 to 1284, a period during which the Friesach mint remained one of the most productive in the eastern Alpine region. Friesach pfennigs — bracteates and the earlier thick-flan type alike — had circulated so widely across Styria, Carinthia, and into the Balkans for over a century that "Friesacher" became a generic term for silver currency in much of the region, independent of the actual issuing authority.

By Frederick's tenure the Friesach type was already in commercial decline, undercut by the rising Wiener Pfennig. This piece belongs to the final generation of meaningful Friesach production.