Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Holy Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1180-1190 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Architectural facade depicted in low relief, comprising a rounded arch resting on two lateral towers or turrets, with a central taller tower rising above the roofline and surmounted by a finial or knob. The arch is decorated with pellet or bead ornaments along its curve, and a small circular pellet appears in the upper left field. The entire design is enclosed within a plain inner circle and a beaded outer border, characteristic of the Swabian bracteate die-cutting tradition. No legend or inscription is present. The rendering is schematic and heraldic in character, consistent with late 12th-century German bracteate coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (1180-1190) |
| Additional information |
Frederick Barbarossa's Ravensburg issues fall within the decade following his decisive reorganization of Swabian imperial holdings after the 1180 humiliation and exile of Henry the Lion. Ravensburg itself had passed to direct Hohenstaufen control, and the mint there was among the instruments used to assert that authority in coin. Bracteates from this mint are notoriously thin-flan products, struck on a single die — meaning every piece is technically a one-sided uniface impression subject to splitting and cracking during striking.
The Cahn Ko. 202 attribution places this among a tight cluster of Ravensburg types distinguishable primarily by minor legend and pellet variations.