Denier Bracteate - Henry the Lion

Henry the Lion ruled Brunswick and Lüneburg as Duke until his catastrophic falling-out with Frederick Barbarossa resulted in his banishment from the empire in 1180 — stripping him of nearly all his territories. Bracteate production in his mints spanned this entire turbulent arc, from his consolidation of Welf power through his exile and eventual partial restoration, making precise dating within the 1142–1195 window difficult without die analysis.

The extremely thin, single-sided fabric of bracteates made them fragile in circulation, and northern German examples frequently show stress cracks propagating from the center.