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.
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.