Catalog
Pfennig - Bernard II Heiligenkreuz
| Issuer | Duchy of Carinthia (Austrian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1220-1240 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of a bishop in pontifical vestments, holding two swords, one in each hand, rendered in stylized medieval fashion. A six-pointed star rises above the bust, projecting into the surrounding inscription area. A circular legend in Latin runs between two concentric beaded or pelleted circles enclosing the central device. The engraving reflects the crude but characteristic hammered style of early 13th-century Austrian bracteate-influenced pfennig coinage. |
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| Mintage | ND (1220-1240) |
| Additional information |
Bernard II ruled Carinthia from 1202 until his death in 1256, and his coinage reflects the duchy's position as a transit zone between the Italian trading cities and the markets of the upper Danube. The Heiligenkreuz type takes its name from the Cistercian abbey of Heiligenkreuz in the Vienna Woods, which held significant landholdings in Carinthia and maintained close ties to the Babenberg and Sponheim dynasties alike. Whether the abbey had any direct role in authorizing or profiting from this issue remains debated among Austrian medieval numismatists.
These thin bracteate-influenced pfennigs were struck by hammer on hand-cut flans, which accounts for the irregular striking surfaces common to the type. CNA Cq87 is among the more precisely documented attributions in the Carinthian series.