Catalog
Dünnpfennig - Theodorich
| Issuer | Bishopric of Basel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1041-1055 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Dünnpfennig = 1/2 Pfennig |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a highly stylised architectural motif, likely representing the facade or gatehouse of Basel Cathedral or a fortified ecclesiastical structure, rendered in the primitive graphic idiom of Ottonian-Salian coinage. The building is depicted frontally with schematic towers or turrets and a central portal suggested by raised relief elements. The legend BA SI LEA, the Latin name for Basel, is distributed around the architectural device in segmented form. The flan exhibits the characteristic thinness and irregular outline of the Dünnpfennig denomination, with die-striking somewhat off-centre. |
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| Additional information |
Theodorich (or Dietrich I) of Basel held the bishopric during a period when the right to strike coin in the upper Rhine region was fiercely contested between episcopal and imperial authority. These thin bracteate-style pfennigs — the name literally means "thin penny" — were produced at a moment when Basel's mint was asserting itself as a serious regional monetary presence under Salian imperial patronage. The fabric is notoriously fragile, and surviving examples free of cracks or edge losses are genuinely uncommon.