Catalog
Pfennig - Ortlieb
| Issuer | Bishopric of Chur |
|---|---|
| Year | 1458-1491 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is blank, as is typical of thin hammered pfennigs of this period, which were struck on a single die with no design applied to the reverse side. The plain reverse surface reflects the incuse impression from the obverse die strike, consistent with bracteate or uniface coinage practice common in the Swiss episcopal mints of the fifteenth century. |
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| Mintage | ND (1458-1491) |
| Additional information |
The Bishopric of Chur held coining rights in the Graubünden region through much of the medieval period, but by the mid-fifteenth century its monetary authority was increasingly contested by the growing power of the Three Leagues — the confederate bodies that would eventually dominate the region entirely. Ortlieb von Brandis, bishop from 1458 to 1491, issued these small silver pfennigs against a backdrop of steadily eroding episcopal influence. The HMZ reference 2-377d places this among a tightly defined group within his reign.