Bamberg silver denarius
The Bamberg Denarius (or Burgkunstadter Münzfund ) is a silver coin from the time of Henry II , which was found in Burgkunstadt in 1978.
discovery
In the course of the renovation of the Burgkunstadter town hall between 1978 and 1980, it was decided to install an elevator in the 300-year-old building. For this purpose, a 2 meter deep shaft was dug, in which H. Knauer discovered the mortar-encrusted coin in 1978 when it was illuminated .
description
The coin has a diameter of 18.5 to 19 mm, consists mainly of silver, and is minted on both sides and bordered with a pearl circle . On the front the head of Henry II is depicted facing to the right. Above it is EINRICVS in Latin letters (H). DI. GRA. REX. (Eng .: Heinrich, king by the grace of God ). BABEN | BERC ( Bamberg ) is stamped on the back with a line break .
The coin is in a rather poor state of preservation, especially the front is heavily corroded by the effects of lime .
Scientific importance
The coin was completely unknown when it was discovered, and the same coin has never been found or described elsewhere. It is also the oldest Bamberg mint certificate.
There are two different theories about the origin and the reason for the coinage. According to Dr. Steinhilber from the Munich State Coin Collection, the coin is a silver denarius minted in Bamberg from the time of Bishop Eberhard I , which was minted on the occasion of the establishment of the Bamberg diocese on behalf of Heinrich II in 1007.
Wolfgang Hahn , professor at the Numismatic Institute of the University of Vienna , put forward a similar but different thesis . He considers the coin to be an anniversary minting on the occasion of the 40th birthday of Henry II on May 6, 1012. Hahn also suspects that the coin is based on an older, possibly even pre-Carolingian model, which he can see from the ancient design of the king's head and the two words DEI GRATIA (German: by God's grace ).
The scientific study that Hahn published on the Burgkunstadter coin find attracted attention across Europe. A better-preserved Polish copy of the coin with the same hallmark made it possible to determine both coins more precisely with regard to origin and date.
However, it has not yet been possible to determine how and when the coin got into the floor screed of the hall of the former Altenburg ob Kunstadt, on the foundations of which today's town hall stands.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Der Bamberger Silberdenar , Landschaftsmuseum.de, accessed on October 2, 2010.
- ↑ a b c d e Rudi Fetzer: Borkuschter mosaic. 2009, p. 272.
literature
- Rudi Fetzer: Borkuschter Mosaik - A slightly different city history. 1st edition. City of Burgkunstadt 2009, DNB 997549874 , pp. 272–273.
- Johann Baptist Müller: Burgkunstadt - A Carolingian castle town. Festschrift for the 60th anniversary of the Colloquium Historicum Wirsbergense . HO Schulze, Lichtenfels 1984, OCLC 310600834 .