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Denier - Henry II/III Bridge
| Issuer | Duchy of Brabant |
|---|---|
| Year | 1235-1261 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central design depicting a stylized bridge motif (the so-called 'pont' type), rendered in a highly schematic, debased medieval style characteristic of 13th-century Brabantine deniers. The bridge structure rises from an arched gateway at the base, flanked on either side by tower-like elements with pellet ornaments. A crescent or lunette device appears at the top center of the composition. The entire design is set within a beaded border and occupies the full field of the flan. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A large, boldly rendered voided cross pattée fills the reverse field, its arms expanding toward the beaded border in the characteristic Brabantine hammered style. The interstices between the cross arms are decorated with additional geometric and curved elements, creating an intricate interlaced appearance. Pellet ornaments and crescent-like devices are distributed throughout the field. The overall design is highly stylized and abstract, consistent with the debased coinage of the mid-13th century Duchy of Brabant. |
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| Additional information |
The overlap in attribution between Henry II (d. 1248) and Henry III reflects a genuine scholarly dispute — the type's broad emission window straddles both reigns, and Witte's numbering does not resolve it cleanly. Brabant's deniers of this period circulated aggressively across the lower Rhine trade corridors, where Flemish, Lotharingian, and Brabantine issues competed with one another and with episcopal coinages from Liège and Utrecht.
The "Bridge" designation distinguishes this subtype within the Henry series by a specific reverse die element tied to local toll infrastructure — bridge revenues were a meaningful ducal income stream and occasionally prompted commemorative or associative coinage choices.