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Obol - Frederick II, Conrad IV and Interregnum Nuremberg mint
| Issuer | Holy Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1240-1268 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.36 g |
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| Obverse description | A collared or maned lion strides to the left in profile, with its right foreleg raised in a passant posture. The beast is rendered in a bold, stylized medieval manner typical of Hohenstaufen-era coinage. A beaded border strip frames the design, defining the inner field. The overall composition is characteristic of the Nuremberg civic heraldic tradition of the mid-thirteenth century. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | A frontal royal portrait depicting a crowned king holding two scepters, each surmounted by a fleur-de-lys or cross, raised symmetrically at either side of the figure. The effigy is rendered in a flat, hieratic style consistent with hammered bracteate-influenced coinage of the Hohenstaufen period. A line circle or hoop border encloses the central design, with rosettes or small crosses ornamentally placed at the edge of the field. The composition reflects the imperial iconographic programme associated with Frederick II and Conrad IV. |
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| Additional information |
This tiny silver piece spans one of the most turbulent successions in medieval German history — Frederick II's final decades, the brief reign of his son Conrad IV, and the Interregnum that followed Conrad's death in 1254, during which the empire effectively had no recognized king for nearly two decades. Nuremberg's mint was unusually active through this chaos, its output underpinned by the city's growing commercial importance along north-south trade routes.
The Erlangen collection reference places this among a closely studied regional bracteate-adjacent series. At 0.36 g, these obols circulated as genuine small change rather than prestige issues.