Denier Bracteate - Henry III

Henry the Lion ruled Saxony at the height of Hohenstaufen-Welf rivalry, and the coinage struck under his authority reflects the political fragmentation of the period — dozens of local bracteate types circulated simultaneously across the duchy, each mint operating with considerable autonomy. The extreme thinness required by bracteate production made these coins notoriously fragile, and many surviving examples show the characteristic cracking and flan splits that result from a single-die strike on such a shallow silver disc.

Henry's eventual fall from imperial favor in 1180, when Frederick Barbarossa stripped him of both Saxony and Bavaria, brought an abrupt end to this series.