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Denier Bracteate - Henry I
| Issuer | Landgraviate of Hessen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1263-1308 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pfennig |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Architectural motif depicting a castle or gatehouse featuring a central arch flanked by a tower, the tower surmounted by three pellets arranged in a triangular formation. Four additional pellets are distributed symmetrically within the outer field, serving as decorative fillers typical of bracteate coinage of the period. The design is rendered in the thin, single-sided relief characteristic of German bracteate pfennigs, with the image struck in incuse on the reverse due to the single-die hammered technique. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Uniface bracteate; the reverse is blank, displaying only the incuse, mirror-image impression of the obverse design as a natural consequence of the single-sided bracteate striking technique. |
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| Additional information |
Henry I of Hessen ruled as the first Landgrave following the partition of Thuringia in 1263, a political settlement that carved out Hessen as an independent territory after decades of dynastic conflict over the Ludowingian inheritance. Bracteates of this type — struck on a single thin flan from one die — were the dominant small coinage of central German territories throughout the 13th century, their fragility making intact survivors genuinely scarce.
The Schütz I#111 reference places this piece within a well-documented but sparsely surviving series. Most examples show stress cracks from the striking process.