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Denier Bracteate 'Moritzpfennig' - Wichmann of Seeburg
| Issuer | Archbishopric of Magdeburg |
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| Year | 1152-1192 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Half-length facing figure of Saint Moritz (St. Maurice), depicted as a warrior saint, rising above an architectural balcony or parapet, holding a pennoned lance or flag in one hand and a round shield in the other, with a sword at his side. To the left of the figure stands a small tower, accompanied by a cross in the field. The composition is rendered in the bold, stylised relief characteristic of German bracteate coinage of the twelfth century, with the design struck on a single thin flan showing fine detail on the obverse face only. |
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| Mint | Magdeburg |
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| Additional information |
Wichmann of Seeburg's tenure as Archbishop of Magdeburg — from 1152 until his death in 1192 — coincided with the height of Hohenstaufen imperial power, and his mint at Magdeburg operated under Frederick Barbarossa's broad tolerance for ecclesiastical coinage rights. The bracteate format, struck on a single thin flan from one die, was the dominant coin form across northern and central Germany through this period, practical for hoarding but notoriously fragile in circulation.
The "Moritzpfennig" designation derives from St. Maurice, patron of Magdeburg Cathedral, whose cult was central to the archbishopric's identity since Otto I deposited his relics there in the tenth century.