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Denier Bracteate - Otto IV Altenburg mint
| Issuer | Holy Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1209-1218 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Frontal standing effigy of Emperor Otto IV, crowned and robed in imperial regalia, holding a fleur-de-lis sceptre in the right hand and an imperial orb in the left. The figure is flanked on either side by a tower, with two pellets positioned in the upper field. The composition is rendered in the flat, single-sided bracteate tradition, with fine incuse relief characteristic of Thuringian and Saxon mint production of the early thirteenth century. |
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| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Otto IV's tenure as Holy Roman Emperor was defined almost entirely by conflict — with Philip of Swabia, with the papacy, and ultimately with Frederick II, whose forces had stripped him of effective power well before his death in 1218. Coins struck at Altenburg during this period belong to a reign already collapsing under him. Bracteates from his imperial years are scarce precisely because his authority in Thuringia and Saxony was contested and intermittent after Innocent III excommunicated him in 1210.
The Altenburg mint attribution rests on die-link studies by Löbbecke and the Bonhoff corpus — cross-referencing remains the only reliable method for establishing provenance among these thin, fragile issues.