There are various basic types of bracteate images, distinguished by their main motifs. This classification was introduced by Thomsen in 1855 and Montelius in 1869 and has since proven to be extremely helpful. It serves as an initial thematic approach to the central image. These types are:
- A = Central image with a dominant human head (following Roman coin portraits);
- B = central image with complete human figures;
- C = central image with large human head above a quadruped;
- D = central image with animal figures as main motifs, mostly highly stylised;
- F = central image with a quadruped that looks more like the ones on the C-bracteates than the one on the D-bracteates.
While the first types (A, B, C and D) can usually be clearly distinguished from one another, the F type, of which there are relatively few examples, is currently the subject of debate due to the methodological difficulties involved in defining it. Some researchers argue for its abolition (with the bracteates then being classified as either C- or D-types). However, the F-type remains in use for the bracteates that have been designated as such to date.
Before the era of gold bracteates, related pendants were already being produced in Scandinavia, which were apparently modelled on Roman gold medallions or multiples. The so-called ‘medallion imitations’ date from the late 4th and early 5th centuries:
M = Double-sided pendants embossed with different images on each side. These objects are iconographically and technically related to the gold bracteates. Thus, they belong to the overall corpus of gold bracteates and are listed with their own IK numbers.
At last, the so-called E-bracteates should be mentioned:
E = Embossed sheet metal pendants from the Vendel period with fairly uniform motifs, mostly from Gotland. The designation as E-bracteates derives from the earliest research, but today these pieces do not belong to the corpus of gold bracteates.
NB: Beyond the types, a finer subdivision of motifs than the types is offered by the families.