Denier Bracteate - Gerhard II of Lippe

Gerhard II served as Archbishop of Bremen from 1219 to 1258, one of the longest episcopates in the see's medieval history. His tenure coincided with sustained conflict over territorial rights in the lower Weser region, and coinage from this period reflects the fractured minting authority shared between ecclesiastical and secular lords — the Counts of Lippe among them. Bracteates of this type circulated primarily as regional exchange instruments within a tight geographic orbit, rarely traveling far from their point of issue.

The attribution to Bonh#22 places this within Dbg. Bonhoff's specialized corpus of north German bracteates, still the primary reference for issues of this diocese.