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Obol - Béla IV
| Issuer | Hungary |
|---|---|
| Year | 1205-1235 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Obol (Obulus) (1/2) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A panther passant to the left occupies the central field. Above the panther, a tree rises in the upper field, flanked by a star to the left and a Hebrew character to the right. The heraldic panther motif and the inclusion of a Hebrew letter reflect the multicultural influences present in the Hungarian royal mint of the early 13th century. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Béla IV's reign was defined less by his early rule than by the Mongol invasion of 1241–42, which devastated Hungary so thoroughly that contemporaries estimated half the population perished. These tiny silver fractions circulated through that catastrophe and its aftermath, when Béla spent years rebuilding the kingdom's urban and fortification infrastructure — a reconstruction program so ambitious it reshaped Hungarian settlement patterns for centuries. The obol denomination served petty transaction needs in markets that were themselves being reconstituted from near nothing.
The ÉH#161 attribution places this piece within a closely related cluster of issues that specialists have debated reassigning across adjacent reigns, with the CAC III reference offering the most current die-study consensus.