Denier Bracteate - Louis II to Gottfried VI

Ziegenhain's bracteate issues of this period reflect the fragmented minting rights that characterized the Hessian territorial nobility in the late thirteenth century — each minor count striking thin, single-sided silver in quantities just sufficient to serve local exchange. The span from Louis II to Gottfried VI covers two successive counts, suggesting this type either bridged a succession or was deliberately continued under the son to maintain monetary continuity in a compact jurisdiction barely able to support its own mint.

At 0.22 g, survival in any legible condition is more the rule than the exception for bracteates of this weight class — not because they circulated lightly, but because they were routinely gathered and remelted.