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Denier Bracteate - Ernest Louis
| Issuer | Hesse-Darmstadt |
|---|---|
| Year | 1678-1739 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Central crowned shield bearing the rampant Hessian lion, rendered in low relief characteristic of hammered bracteate coinage. The letters H and D flank the shield to the left and right respectively, serving as the initials for Hessen-Darmstadt. Below the shield, the mintmaster or mint initials B.I.B appear in the lower field. The overall design is struck on a thin, irregularly shaped flan typical of late 17th to early 18th century German pfennig coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Ernest Louis ruled Hesse-Darmstadt from 1678 until his death in 1739, a reign of over sixty years that spanned the War of the Spanish Succession and the Great Northern War. His court became notable for its cultural ambitions — he was a serious patron of music and maintained close ties with Georg Philipp Telemann — but the landgraviate's finances were chronically strained, and the billon bracteate coinage reflects exactly that pressure. Bracteates at this weight represent the absolute minimum viable coin: struck on a single die through a foil-thin planchet, intended for local small transactions where silver content was almost beside the point.