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Denier Bracteate - Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II Donauworth mint
| Issuer | Holy Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1198-1250 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Crowned facing bust of the ruler, flanked on either side by a cross-staff surmounted by a lily finial and an imperial orb. The design is framed by an outer border consisting of eight arches separated by vertical staves, each arch enclosing a pellet or ring within its tympanum. The composition is characteristic of the Swabian bracteate tradition, executed in thin hammered silver with bold relief on a single face. |
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| Reverse description | Incuse mirror image of the obverse design, as is standard for a bracteate produced by striking a single thin flan from one die. No independent design or inscription is present on the reverse. |
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| Additional information |
Donauworth — then known as Donauwörth or "Schwäbisch Werth" — was an imperial mint town whose output during this half-century spanned one of the most fractious succession crises in medieval German history. The years 1198 to 1218 alone saw three competing claimants to the imperial throne: Philip of Swabia, Otto IV, and the young Frederick II, each issuing bracteates through whatever mints they physically controlled. Donauworth changed hands accordingly.
Bracteates of this type were struck on flans so thin that the die impression reads in relief on one face and as a mirror intaglio on the other — a minting approach common to southern German ecclesiastical and imperial issues of the period, prioritizing silver economy over durability.