Bernard II ruled Carinthia from 1202 until his death in 1256, and the Heiligenkreuz issues from his reign represent one of the more localized minting operations of the Austrian duchies — Heiligenkreuz Abbey holding minting rights that were periodically contested by secular authority throughout the thirteenth century. The bracteate-adjacent thin fabric of these pfennigs made them particularly vulnerable to damage, which accounts for the difficulty in finding intact survivors today.
Bernard II ruled Carinthia from 1202 until his death in 1256, and the Heiligenkreuz issues from his reign represent one of the more localized minting operations of the Austrian duchies — Heiligenkreuz Abbey holding minting rights that were periodically contested by secular authority throughout the thirteenth century. The bracteate-adjacent thin fabric of these pfennigs made them particularly vulnerable to damage, which accounts for the difficulty in finding intact survivors today.