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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 2259675, member: 42773&quot;]The word <b>bracteate</b> (from the Latin <i>bractea</i>, meaning small piece of metal) is used to indicate two kinds of objects: gold medals worn as jewelry during the 5th to 7th centuries AD, and small silver coins used by German-speaking peoples in the early medieval period, commencing circa 1130 in Saxony and Thuringia.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;The bracteates were usually called back regularly, about once or twice a year, and could be exchanged for new coins with a deduction (<i>Renovatio Monetae</i>). This system worked like a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demurrage_%28currency%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demurrage_%28currency%29" rel="nofollow">demurrage</a>: People wouldn&#039;t hoard their coins, because they lost their value. So this money was used more as a medium of exchange than for storing value. This increased the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity_of_money" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity_of_money" rel="nofollow">velocity of money</a> and stimulated the economy.&quot; - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracteate" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracteate" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a bracteate of Wilhelm von Montfort, abbot of Gallen: <i>Agnus Dei</i> (Lamb of God) with cruciform standard and banner. This is an exceedingly thin coin at 17mm, 0.3g, and it&#039;s a miracle any of them have survived for their fragility. In fact, I have found only two of this type sold by CNG, none elsewhere. If anyone knows of any other examples, I&#039;d like to see them. Other types seem to abound, but not the Lamb of God coins of Montfort.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]448562[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="4"><b>SWITZERLAND, Sankt Gallen (Abtei). <i>Wilhelm von Montfort. </i>1281-1301.</b> </font></p><p><font size="4">AR Bracteate (17mm, 0.3 g). Struck 1295-1301. </font></p><p><font size="4"><i>Obv.: Agnus Dei</i> standing left, head right; cruciform banner behind; all within linear border; beaded circle around </font></p><p><font size="4">Rev.: Incuse and reverse of obverse. </font></p><p><font size="4">Reference: HMZ, <i>Schweiz</i> 1-475a; Bonhoff 1820-1; Kestner 2574; Reichmann 2204; de Wit 2453. </font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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