Catalog
| Issuer | Duchy of Carinthia (Austrian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1150-1190 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | CNA#Cu6 , Luschin#12a |
| Obverse description | Central design depicting a frontal facing head or mask in the lower register, rendered in a bold, stylized Romanesque manner typical of 12th-century Friesach coinage. Above the head rises a tall, ornate architectural or ecclesiastical element resembling a mitre or tower flanked by curved horns or crescent-like extensions. The flan is irregular and slightly polygonal, characteristic of hammered bracteate-related obol production. The relief is shallow but well-defined, with no surrounding legend. The overall composition reflects the undetermined mint-mark classification associated with early Friesach pfennig series. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Friesach, in the Duchy of Carinthia, became one of the most important minting centers in the German-speaking lands during the twelfth century, and the denarii produced there set the weight and fineness standard copied across a vast arc of Central European commerce — from the Alpine passes into Hungary and the Balkans. The so-called "Friesach standard" was sufficiently trusted that imitations were struck by dozens of regional lords who wanted their coins accepted in Friesacher trade circuits without actually controlling a Friesach mint.
This obol, the half-denomination, carries marks that resist clean attribution to a specific issuing authority within the Carinthian minting complex — a persistent problem with this series given overlapping ecclesiastical and secular mint rights held simultaneously by the Archbishop of Salzburg and the Carinthian dukes.