Denier Bracteate

Hanover's civic coinage in the mid-fifteenth century occupied an awkward political position — the city was asserting municipal independence while simultaneously navigating pressure from the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose territorial ambitions repeatedly encroached on urban autonomy. Bracteates of this period were already anachronistic by 1438, a thin-flan tradition persisting in northern Germany long after most mints had abandoned it, largely because local trade networks had normalized the fabric and resisted redenomination.

At 0.37g, this piece sits at the lighter end of documented Hanover civic bracteate weights, suggesting either die wear, intentional reduction, or simply the tolerance limits of hand-cut blanks.