Denier Bracteate

Bracteates of this period emerged as a regional monetary solution across Germanic territories where the cost of silver made thick, double-sided flans economically impractical. Struck from a single die on an exceptionally thin planchet, the design pressed through to create a mirror image in relief on the reverse — a technical compromise that made them notoriously fragile and prone to cracking along the edges.

The decades bracketed here span the interregnum chaos following Henry VI's death in 1197 and the double election dispute between Otto IV and Philip of Swabia, a period when local ecclesiastical and secular lords issued coinage with minimal central oversight.