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Denier - Stephen III
| Issuer | Hungary |
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| Year | 1162-1172 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | H#172, CAC II#20.18.1.2, EK I#14/43 |
| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a vertically symmetrical design featuring two confronted crown-like elements, each surmounted by a small cross pattée, separated by a beaded horizontal bar in the center. Crescent motifs flanked by pellet groupings occupy the left and right fields, imparting a heraldic quality to the overall composition. The design is entirely aniconic and geometric in character, typical of the hammered medieval Hungarian denier coinage of the twelfth century. No legend or inscription is present. The flan is irregular and slightly concave, consistent with the hand-struck technique of the period. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Stephen III came to power as a teenager in 1162 and spent much of his reign fighting off rival claimants backed by the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos, who twice installed Stephen's uncles — Ladislaus II and Stephen IV — on the Hungarian throne in his place. The instability meant the royal mint operated under genuinely contested authority for stretches of this decade, and the attribution of individual deniers to specific years within the reign remains difficult.
The EK and CAC references place this piece within a tightly defined die grouping that distinguishes it from issues of the usurping Stephen IV, a distinction that eluded collectors for generations.