Holy Roman Empire, Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg, Bernhard, Bracteate

Bernhard of Saxony (1180-1212) acquired Wittenberg in the year 1183 and began shortly thereafter to strike his own coins. For cutting the dies for his bracteates, Bernhard commissioned a master craftsman who's name unfortunately remains unknown. A characteristic, however, makes him cognizable: his coin designs are always surrounded by four concentric circles. On this bracteate, these circles surround a little lion.