Pfennig, Holy Roman Empire, Quedlinburg, circa 1110–1125
In the Holy Roman Empire, emperors were not the only people who minted coins with their names on them. The right to issue coins was also transferred to local rulers, both ecclesiastical and secular.
These included a few women like Agnes I, granddaughter of German Emperor Henry III. Agnes I had this coin minted in around 1110–1125 in Quedlinburg, where she was abbess. The obverse (front) depicts the Virgin Mary, and the reverse (back) shows a city within a city wall. Quedlinburg Abbey was founded in 936 by Queen Matilda of Saxony in memory of her husband, Emperor Henry I.
