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Pfennig - Eberhard II Friesach
| Issuer | Archbishopric of Salzburg (Austrian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1200-1235 |
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| Currency | Pfennig (800-1500) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A stylized architectural facade dominates the central field, depicting a three-towered church or city gate with a domed central tower flanked by two flanking turrets, all rendered in a flat, schematic manner consistent with Friesach pfennig types of the Salzburg archbishopric. Below the structure, a decorative row of pellets forms a baseline, and crosshatched ornamental elements fill the lower field. The coin border is defined by a beaded inner circle and the irregular flan edge. No legend is present on the reverse. The architectural motif references the ecclesiastical authority of the issuing see and is a hallmark of the Friesach coinage tradition. |
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| Additional information |
Friesach pennies dominated Alpine trade circuits for over a century, and Salzburg's issues under Eberhard II were among the most aggressively circulated. The Archbishop — a sharp political operator who navigated the investiture conflicts between the papacy and the Hohenstaufen emperors with considerable skill — controlled the Friesach mint at a moment when its output was being copied by mints across Carinthia, Styria, and even into Hungary and the Balkans. The imitations themselves became a recognized currency class.
CNA Cu11 places this type within a sequence distinguished by subtle die characteristics that Luschin spent considerable effort untangling in the nineteenth century.