Pfennig - Frederick the Fair Graz

Frederick the Fair's claim to the Styrian pfennigs of this period rests on his role as Duke of Austria and Styria following the Habsburg partition of 1308, though his authority was perpetually contested — most dramatically during his war against Louis IV of Bavaria, which culminated in his capture at the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322. He spent years imprisoned at Trausnitz Castle before a negotiated release. Graz served as the administrative center of Styrian ducal coinage throughout his tenure, and the thin, bracteate-influenced fabric of these small silvers reflects the regional minting tradition of the inner Austrian duchies rather than the heavier pfennig standards developing elsewhere.