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Denier Bracteate - Anonymous Sword left, key right and down, star above
| Issuer | Bishopric of Dorpat |
|---|---|
| Year | 1248-1346 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Hohlpfennig |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Uniface bracteate struck on a thin, irregularly shaped flan with a lobed or beaded border. At center, a crossed arrangement of a sword (pointing left) and a key (pointing right and downward) forms the principal device, their shafts intersecting near the middle of the field. A small star or mullet appears above the crossed implements. The low-relief design is characteristic of the crude but distinctive bracteate coinage of the Livonian ecclesiastical mints, with the imagery serving as an episcopal heraldic symbol associated with the Bishopric of Dorpat. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Bishopric of Dorpat — established in 1224 after the Livonian Crusade brought the region under ecclesiastical control — issued bracteates as part of the broader Baltic thin-flan coinage tradition that dominated the eastern Baltic throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. At 0.13g, these are among the most fragile surviving medieval coins from the region; the single-sided striking technique that defines the bracteate form means the dies had to be cut in reverse, and surviving examples with sharp detail are genuinely uncommon.