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Pfennig - Ottokar III or Ottokar IV
| Issuer | Duchy of Styria (Austrian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1160-1200 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field contains a stylized panther passant to the right, rendered in the crude but vigorous Romanesque manner typical of 12th-century Austrian bracteate-influenced pfennigs. The beast is depicted with curling tail and open mouth, surrounded by a raised inner ring. The outer border features a repeating pellet-and-arc decorative legend band in Latin characters, partially legible due to the irregular flan and die wear inherent to hammered coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse depicts an armored knight or margrave on horseback advancing to the right, holding a lance or staff surmounted by a cross or banner, executed in a flat, linear style characteristic of 12th-century Styrian hammered coinage. A crescent or arc motif appears to the right of the mounted figure, possibly a heraldic device or decorative filler element. The surrounding field retains traces of a border legend in Latin characters, largely illegible due to characteristic flan irregularity and strike weakness. Small pellet or star ornaments punctuate the border at intervals. |
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| Additional information |
Styrian coinage of the late 12th century sits in one of the more administratively tangled periods of the duchy's history. Ottokar III died in 1164, leaving Styria to his son Ottokar IV, who suffered from an unnamed chronic illness and ultimately signed the Georgenberg Pact in 1186 — ceding Styria to the Babenbergs of Austria upon his death, which came in 1192. Attribution of pfennigs to one Ottokar or the other within this window remains genuinely unresolved, and CNA#B93 reflects that uncertainty honestly rather than forcing a false assignment.