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Denier - Henry III Gittelde mint
| Issuer | Holy Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1046-1056 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of Emperor Henry III, rendered in the schematic Ottonian-Salian style typical of mid-eleventh-century imperial coinage. The effigy is depicted with a crown or diadem surmounted by a triangular or chevron-shaped architectural canopy, flanked by pellets or ornamental elements in the field. The portrait is executed in low, flat relief characteristic of hammered silver pfennige, with stylised facial features and rudimentary drapery indicated at the shoulders. The irregular flan and variable die alignment are consistent with workshop production of the Gittelde mint. The obverse legend encircles the bust. |
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| Obverse lettering | + HEINRICVS IMPR (Translation: Emperor Henry.) |
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| Additional information |
Gittelde, a small mining settlement in the Harz foothills, operated a royal mint under Henry III at a moment when the emperor was aggressively consolidating control over imperial minting rights — stripping ecclesiastical authorities of privileges his predecessors had freely granted. The Harz region's silver deposits made it strategically central to this policy. Henry III's reign saw more imperial mint activity in Saxony than any ruler since Otto I.
Kluge Kar#124 places this squarely among the rarer regional types; Gittelde's output was modest and the mint did not survive long after Henry's death in 1056.