Denier Bracteate - Henry the Lion

Henry the Lion ruled Brunswick and Lüneburg as Duke until his dramatic fall in 1180, when Frederick Barbarossa successfully prosecuted him for failing to provide military support at the Battle of Legnano. The subsequent territorial dismemberment of his duchy — one of the most significant acts of imperial justice in the twelfth century — makes coins attributable to his reign historically loaded well beyond their modest silver content.

Bracteates of this type were produced on such thin flans that double-striking and flan cracks are structural features of the series, not signs of mishandling.