Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXV 11-12 Jan 2022
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GERMANY, Halberstadt (bishophric). Ulrich I von Reinstein. 1149-1160. AR Bracteate Pfennig (30mm, 0.85 g). S SS TTEPH APVS P, two Jewish men standing right, wearing conical hats and hurling stones at St. Stephan, kneeling right, arms raised in supplication; above, manus Dei crowning St. Stephen; POTHON A between / Incuse of obverse. Kestner 1275-7; Löbbecke 20; Bonhoff –. Rich old cabinet toning. Near EF.
From the Dr. Jay M. Galst Collection. Ex Hirsch 183 (20 September 1994), lot 2805; Hirsch "Kunstvolle Brakteaten" (6 October 1965), lot 37.
St. Stephen was an early Christian martyr whose preaching angered the traditional Jewish synagogues. Accused of blasphemy against the Temple and the law, Stephen was summoned to account for himself at the Sanhedrin, the council of Jewish elders in Jerusalem. His speech defended the Christian idea that the Temple was merely a construction of man, and that the old laws had been superseded in a new covenant. The elders did not receive this testimony well. Stephen was dragged outside of the city and stoned to death.
The figures depicted on this coin are depicted in contemporary attire, with the two men casting stones both wearing the Judenhut, a traditional form of headgear in the Jewish community. These hats would be made compulsory in much of Europe following the ruling of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, which required Jews to be identifiable by their attire. This coin type is often considered the first government-issued anti-Semitic coin type. (The Shekel XVIII.4 [July-August 1984], p. 3)
From the Dr. Jay M. Galst Collection. Ex Hirsch 183 (20 September 1994), lot 2805; Hirsch "Kunstvolle Brakteaten" (6 October 1965), lot 37.
St. Stephen was an early Christian martyr whose preaching angered the traditional Jewish synagogues. Accused of blasphemy against the Temple and the law, Stephen was summoned to account for himself at the Sanhedrin, the council of Jewish elders in Jerusalem. His speech defended the Christian idea that the Temple was merely a construction of man, and that the old laws had been superseded in a new covenant. The elders did not receive this testimony well. Stephen was dragged outside of the city and stoned to death.
The figures depicted on this coin are depicted in contemporary attire, with the two men casting stones both wearing the Judenhut, a traditional form of headgear in the Jewish community. These hats would be made compulsory in much of Europe following the ruling of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, which required Jews to be identifiable by their attire. This coin type is often considered the first government-issued anti-Semitic coin type. (The Shekel XVIII.4 [July-August 1984], p. 3)