Berthold III held the county of Andechs during a period of aggressive dynastic expansion — the family was simultaneously pressing claims in Istria, Dalmatia, and the Tyrol, and the elevation to Duchy of Merania in 1180 under his predecessor had sharpened both their ambitions and their need for a functioning local currency. The Stein mint in Oberkrain (modern Kamnik, Slovenia) operated within this context of rapid territorial consolidation along the eastern Alpine marches.
The five-year window of 1183–1188 is tight enough that surviving specimens likely represent a single, relatively short production run. Berthold III died in 1188, and minting authority at Stein passed with the succession.
Berthold III held the county of Andechs during a period of aggressive dynastic expansion — the family was simultaneously pressing claims in Istria, Dalmatia, and the Tyrol, and the elevation to Duchy of Merania in 1180 under his predecessor had sharpened both their ambitions and their need for a functioning local currency. The Stein mint in Oberkrain (modern Kamnik, Slovenia) operated within this context of rapid territorial consolidation along the eastern Alpine marches.
The five-year window of 1183–1188 is tight enough that surviving specimens likely represent a single, relatively short production run. Berthold III died in 1188, and minting authority at Stein passed with the succession.