Banovac
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/c/ca/M%C3%BCnze_Banovac_-_Slavonien_1270.jpg/220px-M%C3%BCnze_Banovac_-_Slavonien_1270.jpg)
Banovac (plural Banovci ; Latinized Denarius Banalis ) is the name of a Croatian silver coin that was minted in Slavonia (then Banat of the Hungarian-Croatian kingdom ) from the middle of the 13th century to the end of the 14th century . The coin retained its value for a long time, was easily convertible and also had a good national reputation .
The name Banovac is derived from the name Ban , for the Croatian prince or provincial administrator of Slavonia. From 1255 the main mint was the Slavonian city Pakrac in northeastern Croatia. In 1260 the mint was moved to the later Croatian capital Zagreb . Hence the name Denarius Zagrabiensis occasionally .
The coin served as a model for centuries. From 1941 to 1945, the currency of the so-called Independent State of Croatia was called Banica, referring to the coin image and the name of the Banovac Kuna ( Croatian for marten ) and the denomination coin . The current currency of the Republic of Croatia , which has been independent since 1991, is again called the kuna . In Romania , the term Ban (plural Bani ) became the term for money and Ban is also the local coin . The dividing coin of the Republic of Moldova is also called Ban .
description
The coin image shows mainly on the obverse a marten as the heraldic animal of Slavonia and on the reverse the Hungarian cross . The following coin inscriptions are known:
- MONETA REGIS P [RO] SCLAVONIA (often)
- MONETA B [ELAE] REGIS P [RO] SCLAVONIA (very rare)
- MONETA DVCIS P [RO] SCLAVONIA (very rare)
- MONETA REGIS P [RO] VNGARIA (rare)
The coin measures about 15 millimeters in diameter and their fineness of silver is about 0.66 grams .
literature
- Irislav Dolenec: Hrvatska Numismatika: od početaka do danas . Ed .: Prvi hrvatski bankovni muzej Privredne banke Zagreb. Zagreb 1993, Slavonski Banovci, p. 30-40 .