Denier Bracteate - Ulrich IV of Heidegg

Reichenau Abbey's coinage authority derived from an imperial mint privilege, but by the mid-twelfth century the abbey's temporal administration had increasingly passed into the hands of appointed secular advocates — the Vögte. Ulrich IV of Heidegg held that advocatial role, and his appearance on abbey coinage reflects the blurred line between ecclesiastical and lay power that characterized imperial church governance under the Hohenstaufen. The bracteate format itself was spreading rapidly through the German-speaking lands at precisely this moment, replacing the older two-sided denier as mints sought thinner, wider flans that rewarded the period's sophisticated die-cutting.