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Obol - Béla IV
| Issuer | Hungary |
|---|---|
| Year | 1235-1270 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central architectural pillar surmounted by a double arch, beneath each arch a facing head rendered in low relief; above the structure, a crenellated bastion or tower bearing a cross flanked by two stars. The design is executed in the crude, schematic style typical of mid-13th-century Hungarian hammered bracteate-influenced coinage, with no encircling legend. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (1235-1270) |
| Additional information |
Béla IV's reign was defined almost entirely by the Mongol invasion of 1241–42, which devastated Hungary so thoroughly that contemporaries estimated half the kingdom's population died. The rebuilding effort that followed — new stone fortifications, resettled populations, rechartered towns — required administrative infrastructure, and coinage was part of that reconstruction. These tiny obols circulated in a country that had to be substantially rebuilt from scratch.
At 0.22g, striking consistency was nearly impossible to maintain, and known examples vary considerably in flan quality.