Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Pfennig - Ortlieb
| Issuer | Bishopric of Chur |
|---|---|
| Year | 1458-1491 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 14 mm |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | A heraldic ibex passant facing left, displayed on a shield at center. The shield is encircled by a beaded (pearl) border. The letter 'O' appears in the upper field above the shield, serving as a mintmaster's or issuer's initial, while a small ringlet ornament occupies the lower field below the shield. The overall design is typical of late medieval Swiss episcopal coinage, struck on a roughly circular, irregular flan. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Bishopric of Chur occupied a strategically awkward position in the late fifteenth century — squeezed between the expanding Swiss Confederacy and the Habsburgs, both of whom were actively courting or coercing Alpine ecclesiastical territories. Bishop Ortlieb von Brandis, who held the see from 1458 to 1491, navigated this pressure throughout his episcopate while maintaining the right to strike small silver coinage. At 0.29 g, these pfennigs were among the most fractional currency in circulation across the Graubünden region, used for the smallest daily transactions in mountain markets and toll points.