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Pfennig 'Vierzipfeliger Pfennig'
| Issuer | City of Solothurn |
|---|---|
| Year | 1300 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered (bracteate) |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | VRSVS |
| Reverse description | Blank, as is typical of bracteate coinage of this period, where the design was struck on only one side of the thin silver flan, leaving the reverse as an incuse mirror impression of the obverse without any intentional design. |
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| Additional information |
Solothurn's so-called "four-pointed" pfennig takes its name from the characteristic clipping technique used to produce it — a square flan rotated 45 degrees and struck, leaving four projecting corners rather than a round edge. This was not a design choice but a production shortcut, allowing the mint to skip the laborious process of rounding each blank.
Late 13th-century Swiss civic mints operated with considerable autonomy, and Solothurn's right to strike its own coinage was tied directly to its status as a free imperial city under Rudolf of Habsburg.