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Denier - Henri Ier et roi Henri IV
| Issuer | Bishopric of Speyer |
|---|---|
| Year | 1067-1073 |
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| Value | 1 Denier |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of Bishop Henri I depicted in a schematic, stylized manner, holding a crozier or ecclesiastical staff before him. The effigy is enclosed within a beaded inner circle. The surrounding legend reads + HEINRICVS EPSX in Latin characters, partially visible around the circumference of the coin. The die work is characteristic of Ottonian-Salian hammered coinage, with bold but primitively rendered facial features. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | + HEINRICVS EPSX |
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| Additional information |
This denier was struck during one of the most combustible periods in medieval German ecclesiastical politics. The years 1067–1073 place it squarely in the run-up to the Investiture Controversy, when the relationship between the imperial throne and the German episcopate was fracturing under precisely the tensions that would culminate in Henry IV's humiliation at Canossa in 1077. The Bishopric of Speyer held particular significance to the Salian dynasty — Henry IV's father, Henry III, had lavished building patronage on Speyer Cathedral and was buried there.
The dual attribution to Henri Ier and roi Henri IV in the name reflects the overlapping authority structures of the period, with episcopal coinage rights bound tightly to royal confirmation.