Denier Bracteate - Henry VIII

The Bailiwick of Weida was one of the smaller lordships of the Vogtland, a fragmented region of eastern Thuringia where the Vögte — imperial advocates — minted their own bracteates with remarkable independence throughout the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. This Henry is Heinrich IV of Weida, whose tenure coincided with the gradual absorption of Vogtland territories into the expanding orbit of the Wettin margraves of Meissen. The large diameter relative to the negligible silver content is characteristic of the single-sided bracteate technique, where the flan was hammered thin enough for the design to push through completely.