Catalog
Pfennig - Bernard II Heiligenkreuz
| Issuer | Duchy of Carinthia (Austrian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1220-1240 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Frontal bust of a bishop depicted in a hieratic, Romanesque style with both arms raised in an orans or blessing posture, holding a domed church or reliquary with two flanking towers. The design is enclosed within an outer border of lines and an inner beaded circle, emphasizing the architectural motif central to the type. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Bernard II ruled Carinthia from 1202 until his death in 1256, and the Heiligenkreuz — Holy Cross — mint issues attributed to his reign represent one of the more systematically catalogued bracteate-adjacent series from the Alpine duchies. The dating window of 1220–1240 places this pfennig squarely within the period when Carinthia was navigating the expanding influence of the Babenberg dukes of Austria to the north and the Aquileian patriarchate to the south.
CNA Cq44 is a thin, hammered denar-type struck to the regional Friesacher standard, which had dominated silver circulation across the central Alpine lands since the late twelfth century. That standard was already beginning to fragment by the 1240s under pressure from new regional issues.