Clausthal mint
The Clausthal mint was an important German device for stamping of coins and was operated from 1617 to 1849. It was based in Clausthal ( Harz ), where the Upper Harz mining industry produced significant amounts of silver .
Due to two fires and organizational changes to the coin operation, three operating periods can be defined. The " Alte Münze " building, which still exists today, housed the main building from the last operating period. The minters included the dukes of Braunschweig-Lüneburg , the electors of Hanover and King Jérôme Bonaparte of Westphalia .
history
prehistory
The first mint in the Harz was set up in St. Andreasberg as early as 1530 . Even silver , which came from the Clausthal mines was processed here. Until about 1600, however, most of the silver was minted in Osterode . There was a coin from the Dukes of Grubenhagen . St. Andreasberg, Clausthal and Osterode all belonged to the Duchy of Grubenhagen at that time. After the Dukes of Grubenhagen died out, the area first went to the duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , which borders to the north and to which the immediately adjacent mountain town of Zellerfeld also belonged. The Brunswick-Wolfenbütteler Duke Heinrich Julius closed the mint in Osterode and moved it in 1601 to the office of Zellerfeld. However, Heinrich Julius' son had to surrender the former Grubenhagen area to the Celle line of the Braunschweig-Lüneburg family in 1617 . The ore mining in Clausthal was now in a different principality than the mint, only a few kilometers away.
Claushof facility (1617–1674)
In Clausthal there was a well-fortified hunting lodge surrounded by moats for the dukes of Grubenhagen. A city view from 1606 shows the building as Claushoff . The name Herrenhof was also in use. This building is referred to as the mint on another view from 1661. In the Claushof, coins were minted using traditional techniques with a hammer and minting stick. The coin survived the city fire of 1634; the Claushof burned down in 1674.
Second operating period (1674-1725)
The buildings of the second operating period were built on the site of the former Claushof. In addition to the main house, there was a smelting house as well as other outbuildings and an extinguishing water pond. In the basement of the main building, a rolling or drafting mill was set up for processing the Zaine , which was operated via a horse gypsy .
From 1674, the minting took place by means of a push mechanism (balancer) that was procured from Celle . Considerations for the new equipment of the mint had been made as early as 1672.
In 1717/18 the building was expanded in order to be able to set up further push mechanisms. On March 26, 1725, another city fire broke out in Clausthal, which largely destroyed the second plant. Only the roof of the smelting house was damaged.
Third operating period (1727-1849)
(For the history of the construction and use of the main building, see also Alte Münze zu Clausthal )
The main house of the third mint was built on the foundations of the second mint. In May 1727 the building was rebuilt. It was possible to fall back on plans that had been made shortly beforehand for the expansion of the previous building (for example, separation into living area and actual coin). The basement under the previous living area and the basement room with the horse gypsy under the mint were preserved and taken over. The arrangement of the annealing furnace and the drawing and rolling mill on the first floor made it possible to set up two stamping rooms on the ground floor. The total costs amounted to a good 7,000 thalers.
The building stock towards the end of the operating period included a silver distillery in which fine silver was burned from the delivered Blicksilber . The teeth were cast from the fine silver in the enamel vault. These buildings were bricked, covered with roof tiles and equipped with wind ovens . On the western edge of the property there were coal sheds, as well as cow and horse stables, workshops and a guard room. In some of these buildings an embossing room was also set up. Dung stalls, toilets and storage buildings had been built on the north side. In addition to the extinguishing water pond, there were two other large containers for extinguishing water just behind the main building.
During the Seven Years' War, the coin belonged to the Electorate of Hanover , which fought on the side of Prussia together with England, which was linked to it in personal union. In 1761 Clausthal was occupied by the French. About 122,000 silver marks (about 28 tons) had to be delivered as war tax from coins and tithes .
The third operating period also included the time under French occupation during the Napoleonic Wars and in the Kingdom of Westphalia (1805–1813). The kingdom administration separated the coin and tithe chamber . Among other things, various medals of homage were minted. In 1806, Minting according to the Prussian standard was introduced for a short time, then Hessian or Royal Westphalian coins were minted, then from 1813 Hanoverian coins again.
In 1820 the mint was placed on a new administrative basis. So far the mint master had been able to carry out certain minting work on his own account. This regulation has now been abolished and the coin has been completely taken over into state administration. An "administrator", Bergrat Julius Albert, was appointed to head the mint . Albert mentioned a possible closure of the coin as early as 1821.
In 1839 the Hanoverian Ministry of Finance ordered that only coins in 12-solder silver (750/1000 fineness) should be minted. This alloy is harder than the “burned” fine silver of around 950/1000, which was previously minted in Clausthal for the production of Kurant coins . Various technical adjustments to the changed hardness of the coin metal dragged on until 1843. By aligning it with the coin calculation of the new and larger mint in Hanover , it became clear from 1847 that the Clausthal coins show comparatively high fluctuations in gross weight and fineness (“shot and grain”). The considerations to move the mint to Hanover became acute. The decision to close was made the following year. The last coins were minted in Clausthal on June 17, 1849.
staff
Mint officials
Mint masters and mint directors managed the Clausthal Mint technically and administratively. They earned 200 thalers per year in 1643 and 348 thalers in 1810. Supervision tasks to control the precious metal content were exercised by the coin guards. They received about half the mint master's wages. From 1821 a multi-member college ran the mint.
Four mint masters worked in the Claushof: Hans Lafferst (1617), Georg Krukenberg (1620), Henning Schreiber (1622–1640) and Leopold Weber (1640–1674). The first three are accused of not having withstood the temptations of the tipper and wipper era and of at least temporarily minting inferior coins.
The mint master Henrich Bonhorst , who worked in the second mint building from 1675, was appointed to introduce new minting techniques. In 1695 he was promoted to the first Clausthal mint director. In 1711 he was succeeded by his son Heinrich Christian Bornhorst as mint master, and in 1717 as mint director. From 1722 onwards, Bonhorst Junior died of illness in 1725 - the same year the company burned down.
After Bonhorst's death in 1725 Christian Philipp Spangenberg became mint master, who had previously worked at the mint as Wardein. Later Johann Christoph Borckenstein Wardein became Clausthal. Spangenberg was promoted to mint director four years later. In 1751 Spangenberg was dismissed because of accumulated debts and arrested for several weeks. His successor was - initially provisionally - Wilhelm Schlemm , who had held the post of wardein since 1743. In 1761 Schacht was Münzwardein. Schlemm did not become mint director until 1780. He died in 1788; then his widow administered the office of mint master for a year. The position remained vacant until 1792, which was then filled by Philipp Ludwig Magius for seven years . It was not until 1804 that the re-occupation took place with the vice-tenth Georg Friedrich Michaelis .
Under French administration, the mint was subordinated to the Kassel mint director Dietrich Henrich Fulda in 1810 ; Johann Ludwig Jordan became Wardein. From 1813 to 1819 was Berg counter clerk Johann Wilhelm Lunde mint director. From 1821 a college provided the mint officials, initially Julius Albert, then from 1835 Beermann as administrators.
Coinsmiths and smiths and other workers
From the second operating period (1674), hammer and minting stick were no longer used. This activity was carried out by fully trained members of the minting trade ( Münzohme ). Semi-skilled coin smiths and coin workers could also mint with a push mechanism. Around 1795 about 20 workers were employed at the mint. In addition to the coin smiths (masters, journeymen), these were smelters, a coin guard and other assistants.
Iron and punch cutter
- Ehrenreich Hannibal (until 1743)
- Martin Hannibal (1743–1758)
Prominent visits
- Jérôme Bonaparte and his wife (1811)
- Heinrich Heine (1824)
- King Ernst August on September 19, 1839 minted visiting coins as fine silver thaler and 1 pfennig
literature
- Wilhelm Rothert: The senior officials in the mining town of Clausthal, from the earliest times to the present . Clausthal 1898, pp. 54-56 ( digitized version ).
- Gesche Löning, Claudia Küpper-Eichas: The operation of the Clausthal mint. In: Die Münze zu Clausthal - Contributions to the history of the mint. Oberharzer Geschichts- und Museumsverein eV and Clausthal Student Union, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 1994, pp. 1-67.
- Claus Wiechmann: The construction history of the Clausthal Mint from 1725–1985. In Die Münze zu Clausthal - Contributions to the history of the mint. Upper Harz History and Museum Association and Clausthal Student Union, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 1994, pp. 69–105.
Web links
- Mints on the side of the city of Clausthal-Zellerfeld