Catalog
Pfennig - Otokar III or Otokar IV
| Issuer | County of Formbach (Austrian States) |
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| Year | 1164-1192 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | A stylized lion passant facing right occupies the central field, rendered in the bold, abstracted manner characteristic of 12th-century Austrian bracteate-related coinage. The figure is enclosed within a dotted inner border, accompanied by a horseshoe device and a small cross motif, all set within a ringed border. The irregular flan and crude strike are consistent with contemporary hammered silver pfennig production in the Austrian marches. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Formbach was a minor comital dynasty in the Inn-Salzach region whose line effectively ended with Otokar IV, who died without legitimate heirs in 1192 — after which the county passed to the Bishopric of Passau. The attribution uncertainty between Otokar III and IV is typical of this series; the CNA catalogers have not been able to resolve the sequence on die evidence alone.