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<p>[QUOTE="Orielensis, post: 7751493, member: 96898"]Nice coins and interesting write-up, [USER=110504]@+VGO.DVCKS[/USER] !</p><p><br /></p><p>It's no coincidence that the Saxon dukes started to substantially mint coins just after Henry II was elected king in 1002. His accession to the throne certainly was a hard blow to the Saxon nobility. All previous Ottonian rulers had been culturally and dynastically rooted in Saxony. Henry, on the other hand, only was a second grade cousin of the deceased Otto III and came from a distant Bavarian side branch of the Liudolfing family. His rule thus meant that the center of power shifted to the south, much to the distress of the Saxons who found themselves more or less excluded from the inner circle of the new king.</p><p><br /></p><p>This also changed the role of the Saxon dukes. German historians often see a sort of "switching sides" taking place at this point. Prior to Henry's election, the duke had mainly been a Saxon king's representative in Saxony. During Henry's reign, though, Bernhard I and his successors started to act as the Saxons' representatives vis-à-vis a foreign king and sought for greater independence. As part of this, the Billung dukes in the 11th century increasingly relied on their own mints instead of royal coinage and formed their own alliances with their Frisian, Danish, and Slavic neighbors. This trend continued in the Salian period.</p><p><br /></p><p>I own a few 11th century Saxon coins that reflect this process. The first one was struck by the royal mint at Goslar, the second one by the imperial mint governed by the bishop of Magdeburg, and the last two coins probably come from mints under the control of local Saxon lords:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1327250[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Otto III with Adelheid of Burgundy as regent (or immobilized under his successors), Holy Roman Empire, "Otto-Adelheid-Penny," 983/991– ca. 1050, probably Goslar mint. Obv: [+D]'I GR'A + R[EX], cross with OD[D]O in quadrangles. Rev: [A]TEAH[LHT]; "wooden church," pellet to right. 19mm, 1.39g. Hatz IV 5/6.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">[ATTACH=full]1327247[/ATTACH] </font></p><p><font size="3">Magdeburg, Imperial mint, "Saxon penny," probably issued under Otto III (r. 983–1002 AD) and Archbishop Giselher (984–1004 AD). Obv: ...I M I... (corrupted MAGADEBURG); "wooden church" with four pellets inside; three pellets to l. and r. Rev: ...EI°III... (corrupted IN NOMINE DNI AMEN), cross pattée. 16mm, 1.27g. Ref: Dannenberg 1330; Mehl 30; Kilger Mg HP 1; Slg Hauswaldt 14.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">[ATTACH=full]1327248[/ATTACH] </font></p><p><font size="3">"Saxon penny", anonymous regional issue, under Conrad II, ca. 1025–1030 AD, struck in the region around Meißen. Obv: legend of wedges and retrograde [C]-V-X-R (CRVX–type), cross trefly. Rev: legend of wedges and H-[E?]-V-R (VERH–type), cross of wedges. 16mm, 1.10g. Ref: Type Mol A 2; Dannenberg 1335a–c.</font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1327249[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">"Saxon penny", anonymous regional issue, under the early Salian emperors (Conrad II – Henry IV), ca. 1025–1060 AD, struck in the Saale region close to Naumburg. Obv: legend of wedges and retrograde [R?]- X-I-V (CRVX–type), cross with pellets and ringlets in quadrants. Rev: legend of wedges and C-V-X-[R?] (CRVX–type), cross of wedges. 16mm, 1.17g. Ref: Type Sal D 2:1; Dannenberg 1337.</font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Orielensis, post: 7751493, member: 96898"]Nice coins and interesting write-up, [USER=110504]@+VGO.DVCKS[/USER] ! It's no coincidence that the Saxon dukes started to substantially mint coins just after Henry II was elected king in 1002. His accession to the throne certainly was a hard blow to the Saxon nobility. All previous Ottonian rulers had been culturally and dynastically rooted in Saxony. Henry, on the other hand, only was a second grade cousin of the deceased Otto III and came from a distant Bavarian side branch of the Liudolfing family. His rule thus meant that the center of power shifted to the south, much to the distress of the Saxons who found themselves more or less excluded from the inner circle of the new king. This also changed the role of the Saxon dukes. German historians often see a sort of "switching sides" taking place at this point. Prior to Henry's election, the duke had mainly been a Saxon king's representative in Saxony. During Henry's reign, though, Bernhard I and his successors started to act as the Saxons' representatives vis-à-vis a foreign king and sought for greater independence. As part of this, the Billung dukes in the 11th century increasingly relied on their own mints instead of royal coinage and formed their own alliances with their Frisian, Danish, and Slavic neighbors. This trend continued in the Salian period. I own a few 11th century Saxon coins that reflect this process. The first one was struck by the royal mint at Goslar, the second one by the imperial mint governed by the bishop of Magdeburg, and the last two coins probably come from mints under the control of local Saxon lords: [ATTACH=full]1327250[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]Otto III with Adelheid of Burgundy as regent (or immobilized under his successors), Holy Roman Empire, "Otto-Adelheid-Penny," 983/991– ca. 1050, probably Goslar mint. Obv: [+D]'I GR'A + R[EX], cross with OD[D]O in quadrangles. Rev: [A]TEAH[LHT]; "wooden church," pellet to right. 19mm, 1.39g. Hatz IV 5/6. [ATTACH=full]1327247[/ATTACH] Magdeburg, Imperial mint, "Saxon penny," probably issued under Otto III (r. 983–1002 AD) and Archbishop Giselher (984–1004 AD). Obv: ...I M I... (corrupted MAGADEBURG); "wooden church" with four pellets inside; three pellets to l. and r. Rev: ...EI°III... (corrupted IN NOMINE DNI AMEN), cross pattée. 16mm, 1.27g. Ref: Dannenberg 1330; Mehl 30; Kilger Mg HP 1; Slg Hauswaldt 14. [ATTACH=full]1327248[/ATTACH] "Saxon penny", anonymous regional issue, under Conrad II, ca. 1025–1030 AD, struck in the region around Meißen. Obv: legend of wedges and retrograde [C]-V-X-R (CRVX–type), cross trefly. Rev: legend of wedges and H-[E?]-V-R (VERH–type), cross of wedges. 16mm, 1.10g. Ref: Type Mol A 2; Dannenberg 1335a–c.[/SIZE] [ATTACH=full]1327249[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]"Saxon penny", anonymous regional issue, under the early Salian emperors (Conrad II – Henry IV), ca. 1025–1060 AD, struck in the Saale region close to Naumburg. Obv: legend of wedges and retrograde [R?]- X-I-V (CRVX–type), cross with pellets and ringlets in quadrants. Rev: legend of wedges and C-V-X-[R?] (CRVX–type), cross of wedges. 16mm, 1.17g. Ref: Type Sal D 2:1; Dannenberg 1337.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]
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