Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Pellinore, post: 4106241, member: 74834&quot;]This coin I bought (very cheaply by the way) because I wanted to know how it <i>works</i>, a Hohlpfennig or Hollow Penny of the Middle Ages. It&#039;s a type of bracteate, a one-sided coin popular in late medieval times. This one is from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCneburg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCneburg" rel="nofollow">Lüneburg</a> (near Hamburg), a salt-producing town that was a member of the Hanseatic League.</p><p><br /></p><p>The herring-catching towns of the Hanse needed salt for preserving the fish, so to have your own <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCneburg_Saltworks" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCneburg_Saltworks" rel="nofollow">saltworks</a> amongst your members was very useful. It&#039;s not easy to see, but there&#039;s a walking lion on it, and the other side just shows some bumps leaving you to guess head and swishing tail.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1066660[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>AR Hohlpfennig, Lüneburg. 15th century. Obv. Lion walks to the right, with S-curved tail. 16 mm, 0.41 gr.</p><p><br /></p><p>I made a side picture of the obverse, too. It looks a bit like a volcano cone. Probably these were easily stackable, for they are very light, you need dozens or hundreds for transactions.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1066661[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in