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Denier Bracteate - Adolphus III
| Issuer | County of Holstein-Schaumburg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1189-1201 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Berger#198, Bonh#57 |
| Obverse description | Schematic depiction of a Romanesque cathedral façade rendered in low relief, centrally positioned within a beaded inner circle. The architectural composition features a prominent central tower surmounted by a crenellated or turreted crown finial, flanked by two smaller lateral towers or turrets. Below the main structure, a horizontal string course separates the upper elevation from a lower arcade of four rounded arches, evoking the nave or crypt of the building. The entire design is contained within a double linear border, characteristic of North German bracteate coinage of the late 12th century. The field outside the inner circle and within the outer beaded rim bears traces of a partially legible legend. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Adolphus III of Holstein-Schaumburg spent much of his reign entangled in the collapse of Henrican power in northern Germany following Henry the Lion's final exile in 1180, a political vacuum that allowed minor counts to assert independent minting rights with unusual confidence. The bracteate format — a single-sided uniface struck on a thin flan — was the dominant small denomination technology across the Saxon and Lower Rhenish mints in this period, not an aesthetic choice but a practical one driven by the shallow relief achievable on such light silver.