Denier - Theoderic III of Bar

Theoderic III held the see of Metz from 1163 until his death in 1171, a tenure defined largely by his entanglement in the prolonged conflict between Frederick Barbarossa and the papacy. As a suffragen of the imperial church, the bishop's minting rights derived directly from imperial grant, and Metz's position on the Moselle made its coinage a practical necessity for regional commerce well beyond ecclesiastical use. The denier format had been established at Metz for well over a century by the time Theoderic issued this piece.