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Pfennig - Henry VI
| Issuer | Bishopric of Chur |
|---|---|
| Year | 1491-1503 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 13 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays a heraldic shield bearing a rampant lion facing dexter, rendered in the late medieval style characteristic of the Bishopric of Chur. The shield is set within a plain inner circle, surrounded by a broad raised rim. The coin exhibits an irregular flan typical of hammered bracteate-style pfennigs of the period, with shallow relief and characteristic surface granularity. No legend is present; the design relies solely on the armorial device as the identifying element. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse shows the incuse impression of the obverse design, consistent with the thin hammered uniface or near-uniface striking technique employed for small silver pfennigs of this era. The ghost image of the rampant lion and shield are faintly visible in negative relief. The flan edges are irregular and show typical die-striking distortion common to late 15th-century minor coinage of the Holy Roman Empire. |
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| Additional information |
Henry VI of Brandis served as Bishop of Chur from 1491 to 1517, presiding over a diocese that occupied one of the most strategically critical alpine corridors in late medieval Europe. The Graubünden passes connecting the Italian peninsula to the German lands made Chur's ecclesiastical mint politically significant well beyond the coin's modest silver content. These fractional issues circulated primarily within the Rhine Valley trade networks feeding into the larger Swiss Confederation economy.
The HMZ 1#2-379a attribution places this piece within a tightly documented regional series, though surviving examples are thin on the ground given the denomination's rough daily-use circulation.