Bracteates of this weight class were struck by pressing a single thin flan against a carved die, producing a coin so fragile that folding one in half was effectively irreversible. The Holy Roman Empire never centrally administered these issues — they emerged from a patchwork of episcopal and secular minting rights, meaning two bracteates struck in the same decade might share almost nothing except the silver and the general technique.
The 1270s placed these coins squarely within the interregnum's economic aftermath, the period following the death of Frederick II when imperial authority over coinage had effectively collapsed into regional autonomy.
Bracteates of this weight class were struck by pressing a single thin flan against a carved die, producing a coin so fragile that folding one in half was effectively irreversible. The Holy Roman Empire never centrally administered these issues — they emerged from a patchwork of episcopal and secular minting rights, meaning two bracteates struck in the same decade might share almost nothing except the silver and the general technique.
The 1270s placed these coins squarely within the interregnum's economic aftermath, the period following the death of Frederick II when imperial authority over coinage had effectively collapsed into regional autonomy.