Pfennig - Frederick II Stein in Oberkrain

Frederick II of Austria — "the Warlike" — issued these bracteate-style pfennigs during a reign defined by near-constant conflict with both the Hungarian crown and the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, whose overlordship he repeatedly defied. The Stein mint in Oberkrain (present-day Kamnik, Slovenia) operated under ducal authority in a strategically contested Alpine corridor, its output serving commerce along routes connecting the Adriatic hinterland to the Danube basin. Frederick died without legitimate heirs at the Battle of the Leitha in 1246, extinguishing the Babenberg line entirely.