Catalog
Denier - Theoderich
| Issuer | Bishopric of Basel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1041-1055 |
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| Value | 1 Denier |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the letters I, B, O, C and D arranged around a small cross pattée, the cross positioned at top center with the letters distributed in the surrounding quadrants. The inscription is rendered in a bold, rudimentary Romanesque style characteristic of mid-11th century episcopal coinage. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, typical of hammered medieval deniers. The design likely constitutes a monogrammatic or abbreviated legend referring to the bishop or the mint authority. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse design and legends of this denier are not fully documented in available numismatic references. As is typical for Bishopric of Basel coinage of the mid-11th century, the reverse likely features a simplified architectural motif or cross design in a Romanesque style consistent with contemporaneous episcopal hammered silver issues. |
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| Additional information |
Basel's episcopal mint operated under imperial privilege, and this denier falls within the episcopate of Dietrich I of Basle, who held the see during a period of intense Salian consolidation in the upper Rhine. Henry III relied heavily on loyal bishop-administrators to anchor royal authority in Burgundy following his acquisition of that kingdom in 1033, and Basel sat at a critical crossing of the Rhine on that route south.
The Michd Bâle#14 reference places this among a small documented group of episcopal deniers from the mid-eleventh century that survive in very limited numbers — thin flans and soft silver made them poor survivors.