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Denier Bracteate - Frederick II Ulm
| Issuer | Holy Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1235-1240 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Crowned facing bust of Emperor Frederick II, depicted in high relief characteristic of bracteate coinage. The emperor is shown wearing an ornate crown with beaded detail, his facial features rendered in a stylized Romanesque manner. In his right hand he holds a cross-tipped imperial orb, while his left hand raises a fleur-de-lis scepter. The bust is contained within a plain inner circle, itself surrounded by a beaded outer border. The overall design is bold and schematic, consistent with the Swabian bracteate tradition of the early thirteenth century. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Frederick II held his imperial court at Ulm in 1235 for the Reichstag that produced the Mainzer Reichslandfrieden — the first imperial peace statute written in German rather than Latin. The bracteate coinage associated with this moment reflects the administrative reorganization Frederick was pushing through the German territories, asserting direct imperial minting authority in towns where it had previously been exercised by local bishops or princes. Ulm itself was an imperial free city, which gave Frederick both the political grounds and the practical infrastructure to strike in his own name there.
At 0.40 g, these thin single-sided pieces were punishingly fragile in circulation. Survivors with complete, uncracked flans are genuinely scarce.