Denier Bracteate - Frederick II

Frederick II "Iron Tooth" ruled Brandenburg from 1440 until his abdication in 1470, spending much of that reign in bitter conflict with Berlin and Cölln — the twin cities resisted his centralizing authority until he crushed their autonomy in 1448 in what local chronicles called the "Berlin Indignation." Bracteates of this period reflect the monetary fragmentation of the Mark Brandenburg, where thin single-sided silver pieces circulated alongside heavier coinages from neighboring territories, filling demand at the lowest denomination level where full flans were simply uneconomical to produce.