Pfennig - Eberhard I Friesach

Friesach pfennigs occupy a peculiar place in medieval monetary history: minted in Carinthia rather than Salzburg itself, they became the dominant trade coin of the eastern Alpine routes and circulated as far as the Levant, appearing in crusader hoards from the Holy Land. Archbishop Eberhard I — a reforming churchman closely allied with the Gregorian movement — oversaw the mint during a period when Salzburg was aggressively consolidating ecclesiastical authority across its southern territories. The Friesach mint's output during his tenure effectively funded that expansion.