All this talk on another thread made me finally buy this one. It had been on my watch list for a while so I made an offer to the seller yesterday and he accepted! I have been after one of these for at least 2 years but whenever they appear they seem to sell quickly and the price can go sky high. This one is not perfect it has some wear so it is not one of the very expensive bracteates , but it will fit nicely into my collection. Why did I want this coin? Well, the main reason is the historical significance. The abbey of Quedlinburg was granted permission to mint its own coins. Women were in charge of the abbey and so this is one the rare instance where women were in control of the minting process and could issue coins. That alone is interesting enough for me to want this coin. The abbey also has a long and fascinating history. It is associated with Henry the Fowler and in a strange way with Heinrich Himmler. Please post your bracteates here. Bracteate. Quedlinburg Abbey Gertrud Von Amfurt (1233-1270) VF. Rare Ref: Bonhoff--, Cappe--, Mehl 243
Awesome addition! I spotted this coin for sale recently and contemplated about buying it, but glad that you picked it up. I don’t think it is that much wear, just a somewhat weak strike. These Bracteates were often struck 10 at the same time; the coin at the bottom would have a far sharper strike than the one on top!
Wow, that is TOO cool. But, stoppit. I ain't getting coins in this area... LOL... but I need to have a Bracteate... just b'cuz. Contemporary NON-Bracteate.... Ppppplllll: (meanwhile, at the same time in another part of the world...) SELJUQ OF RUM Kaykhusraw II CE 1236-1245 AR dirham Siwas AH 639 A-1218 lion sunface star L
People interested in coinages under the authority of women of the period might try the likes of Alienor d'Aquitaine, Mahaut/Maud/Mathilde II de Nevers or Isabella de Villehardouin. They are readily available.
Thanks @seth77 I already have coins of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabella. I am just missing the Mahaut.
Or the parisii of Alienor de Vermandois of the 1190s and 1200s from Saint Quentin which are a bit scarcer.
Good luck. They were not the only women to wield power in the 13th century, but their coinages are extensive enough to be collected.
That is a very nice coin @Orfew congrats on the cool acquisition. Don't forget the Empress Matilda. Pennies were issued in her name during the Anarchy. Prices can be cry high. Here is an example, not my coin.
Bracteates are pretty darn cool aren't they? @Orfew , what exactly is the object on the coin? I can't figure it out! Here's mine, one of my favorite medieval coins! Bela III - Bela IV of Hungary, 1172-1270 AD, AR Bracteate Head right, reverse incuse of obverse. Unger 122. 16 mm, 0.4 g
@chrsmat71 I believe it is the face of the abbess surrounded by an altar decorated with candles...but that is only a guess.
Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg A.D. 1236- 1279 AR Bracteate 24x25mm 0.7gm OBV: Lion walking left, over clover. The lion is the emblem of the House of Welf an example that I sold Gero von Schermbke A.D. 1160-1177 AR Bracteate 25mm 0.8gm +NVSC - S STANVS PROTRMA; bust of St. Stephen with raised hands, showing stigmata. Struck in Halberstadt, Germany
A wonderful coin - congratulations on acquiring this rare piece! That's indeed a good question. The type has been attributed to Quedlinburg relatively recently by Mehl 2006 (as no. 243). Mehl describes it as showing the abbess below an archway with four towers. This appears to be based on a similar but more detailed coin depicted by Berger 1993 (as no. 1368), which is assumed to be related to this bracteate. Here is a picture of Berger's coin: Berger didn't attribute this coin to a specific mint but assumed it to come from Halberstadt or Magdeburg (both close to Quedlinburg). Here are the full citations: Manfred Mehl: Die Münzen des Stiftes Quedlinburg, Hamburg 2006. Frank Berger: Die mittelalterlichen Brakteaten im Kestner-Museum, Hannover 1993.
Wow @Orielensis , thanks for that information. That research helps a lot. I did not know where to start looking. The towers explanation makes sense as I have seen the towers on coins of Quedlinburg before. I could not find any similar coins online so mine must be a rare piece.
Here is another powerfull female ruler. AV Goldgulden ND Kremnitz Mint struck 1385/6 Maria of Anjou Queen of Hungary 1382-95 She was the wife of Sigismund of Luxembourg/ King of Hungary/ Croatia/ Bohemia later elected Holy Roman Emperor. This example from Triton forget # MS-64
"Quedlinburg Bracteate of Gertrud Von Anwart" I thought you made up all of those words or spilled your coffee on your keyboard and tried to wipe it up.
Actually, @Orielensis told me in a pm that the seller had it wrong. The name is actually Gertrud von Amfurt. Thanks to him for the correction. I was wondering why I could not find this coin on acsearch.
