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Obol - Béla IV
| Issuer | Hungary |
|---|---|
| Year | 1235-1270 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Obol (Obulus) (1/2) |
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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 | Central field features a crenellated tower flanked on either side by a stylized lily (fleur-de-lis); below the tower, a crescent surmounted by a star. The design is rendered in a flat, archaic hammered style typical of mid-13th century Hungarian bracteate-influenced coinage. No legend is present. The flan is irregular and the strike uneven, consistent with hand-struck medieval minor coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A single Hebrew letter, likely Aleph (א) or another character associated with a Jewish mint master or monetary official, is displayed prominently at the center of the field, enclosed within a circular floral or beaded wreath composed of stylized petals or bosses. The wreath itself is surrounded by a further beaded border near the coin's edge. The design reflects the documented practice under Béla IV of employing Jewish and Ismaelite mint masters, whose identifying marks were placed on the reverse of minor coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Béla IV's reign was defined almost entirely by the Mongol invasion of 1241–42, which devastated Hungary's population, destroyed its urban centers, and collapsed whatever minting infrastructure existed at the time. Coinage from this period is consequently irregular — dies were cut under duress, output was inconsistent across royal mints, and survival rates are low simply because so much of the kingdom's material culture was destroyed or looted outright.
The ÉH#229 attribution places this among the thinner bracteate-influenced issues of his later rebuilding period.