Denier Bracteate - Beatrice I Gelnhausen

Beatrice I was the hereditary Countess of Burgundy who became Empress consort upon her marriage to Frederick Barbarossa in 1156. The imperial mint at Gelnhausen — a city Barbarossa effectively built from scratch as a favored palatinate — produced bracteates under her authority during the 1170s, a period when Frederick was deeply entangled in his running conflict with the Lombard League. That she issued coins in her own name from Gelnhausen reflects the substantial autonomous comital rights she retained over Burgundy and associated territories throughout her marriage.

Häv#56 is among the thinner bracteate types of the Gelnhausen series, punched from a single die onto foil-weight silver.