My most recent acquisition is a bracteate that I have been trying to get for about two years. The type in itself is not that scarce, but it can be hard to find a nice example: Archbishopric of Magdeburg, Albrecht von Käfernburg, bracteate penny, ca. 1220–1232. Obv: OICI – IVSDV; St. Maurice, nimbate and wearing armour, standing facing, holding cross and lance flag; below, church building with two towers an an arch; inside, cranium relic. Rev: negative design (bracteate). 23mm, 0.68g. Ref: Berger 1586; Slg. Hauswaldt 167; Slg. Bonhoff 712. In 1220, Achbishop Albrecht managed to acquire what was believed to be the cranium of St. Maurice, the patron saint of Magdeburg. The new relic was also meant to attract pilgrims and donations. Albrecht needed this additional income to rebuild Magdeburg's cathedral, which had been destroyed in a fire in 1207. He minted a series of three bracteates showing the recently acquired relic, and the coin above is one of them. These coins can be considered an early form of advertising: circulating widely in the German speaking lands, they spread the news about the skull relic and promoted a pilgrimage to Magdeburg. Since I am interested in such forms of medieval mass communication and propaganda via coins, this bracteate was a must-have. Please show your bracteates, medieval coins and/or coins that you have been seeking for for a long time!
Wow, 23mm and only .68g, no wonder it took a while to locate one without cracks/losses. It's a lovely piece, thank you for sharing!
Very nice bracteate! Medieval coins are not my area of interest, but I've recently acquired three Anglo-Saxon pennies. However, it gave me a lot of pleasure to research bit more into background of the coins, the moneyers, and the (then) current affairs. Ruler: Æthelred II (978-1017, or Æthelred the Unready). Silver penny. Last small cross type, Mint: York, Moneyer: Sumarlithr. Obv: + EDELRED REX ANGLOR Head of Aethelred II, draped, crowned, to the left. Inner circle. Rev: SUMRLETHA M-O EOFR Small cross type with inner circle. Details: diameter 20 mm, weight 1.41g. Some peck marks on reverse. Spink 1154 Ruler: Æthelred II (978-1017, or Æthelred the Unready). Silver penny. Long cross type Mint: Winchester, Moneyer: Ælfsige. Obv: +AEDELRAED REX ANGL. Head of Aethelred II, draped, to the left. No inner circle-type. Rev: +AELFSIGE MO PINT. Long cross without inner circle. Details: diameter 19 mm, weight 1.74g. Some peck marks on reverse. Spink 1154. Looks better in hand, text easier readable. Reverse a bit weak at "PINT". Ruler: Cnut (1016-1035, or Cnut the Great). Silver penny. Small cross type. Cnut was a son of the Danish prince Sweyn Forkbeard. Leading a coalition with the Swedes, Cnut invaded England in 1015, then ruled by Æthelred II ("the unready"). In 1016, Æthelred died, leaving the defence of London to Edmund Ironside. Edmund's reputation as a warrior was such that Cnut agreed to divide England, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the whole of the country beyond the Thames. However, Edmund died (under questionable circumstances) on 30 November and Cnut became king of the whole country. Upon the accession to the Danish throne in 1018, and later in 1027 the Norwegian and Swedish throne, Cnut effectively combined England, Danmark, Norway and Sweden, marking the peak of the Viking Age (793–1066 AD) Mint: Lund (Danmark) Obv: +CNVT REX DÆNORT. Head of Cnut, draped, to the left. Inner circle. Rev: [illegible text]. Partly readable: GOD. Should probably be: +GODPINE M-O LVND. Inner circle. Small cross. Details: diameter 20 mm, weight 1.64g. Peck mark on reverse. Very rare! Comparable examples: https://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotv...&Lot=200&Val=fce65d8f76f4a942e8dff46f6df3e75c https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/...0077/lot-e79dabad-7624-4726-b639-a5b700b9b3c4 (no auction details)
Awesome bracteate! Love the perfectly round depiction of the cranium! I’ll show my one and only German brakteat from Lüneburg (Heinrich der Löwe, 1142-1195) which we have discussed here before: And for the fun of it, two more of my favourite medieval coins: Teutonic order, Grand Master Wynrich von Kniprode (1351 – 1382). AR schilling (szeląg), circa 1368 – 1382. Thorn mint (?). Prince bishopric of Liege, Jean de Flandre/de Dampierre (1282 – 1292) . AR Esterlin. Huy (Hoei) mint. Incredibly pleasant toning and details! Slightly ragged flan, Craquelé on obverse.
Those are some nice coins. I also really like this time period and bracteates in particular. Many of them have great stories behind them like the OP bracteate. Shown below is one of the more common ones from southern Germany. Eberhard II von Waldburg Prince-bishop of Waldburg c. 1248 - 1274 0.38g 21 mm Mitered bust between held crozier and lily topped staff Bishopric of Konstanz (right on the border between Germany and Switzerland). The title "prince-bishop" illustrates the lack of separation of church and state. From what I've read, there are instances where the geographic areas of bishopric and civil rule did not perfectly coincide, so one could have secular authority but not church and vice-versa. If work ever slows down I am going to hunt down some history books on this time period.
