bavarikon4UDescription
Obverse: crowned portrait to the right.
Reverse: cross, in the angles: three dots – ringlet – three dots – wedge.
The Bavarian Denarii, also called Regensburger Pfennige (Ratisbon pennies), were minted from the late Carolingian period up to the accession to power of King Henry IV (1056-1105, emperor from 1084). The most important mint in the Duchy of Bavaria was Ratisbon; however, minting also took place in other mints in accordance with the so-called “Regensburger Schlag” (Ratisbon coinage) under the duke or the respective bishops. These additional mints were in Augsburg, Eichstätt, Freising, Salzburg, Nabburg and Cham. As a particularity needs to be mentioned that the shilling was converted into 30 denarii within the domain of the Regensburger Pfennig, while in the rest of the empire it was worth 12 denarii.
Emperor Henry II (1002-1024, emperor from 1014) took over once more as duke of Bavaria in 1009, seven years after his election as king of the Holy Roman Empire. Directly after the succession he started to mint this type of penny, which presents an innovation in local coinage by means of the inclusion of a stylised imperial portrait. It was not only minted in Ratisbon but also in other Bavarian mints. It would take until 1019 that the minting of this type of coin was terminated, since Henry installed a new Bavarian duke. Nonetheless, the coronation of Henry II as Roman Emperor in 1014 had no effect on Bavarian coinage, since for this purpose the royal title (REX) was kept.