Hammer embossing

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The later Emperor Maximilian I visits a mint ; right the hammer stamping by the " Setzmeister "

Hammer minting is the most common form of coin minting using coin stamps from ancient times to modern times . In a narrower sense, hammer embossing refers to an embossing carried out using a hammer, upper and lower stamp ( iron and stick ). Hammer coinage is also generally used to denote the coining of coins by hand (hand coining) before the start of mechanized coining.

Basic technique

In the actual hammer minting process, the coin blank (also round ; flute ) is minted between a lower and an upper punch. The lower punch is firmly connected to the ground, e.g. B. struck into a large block of hardwood. The blank is then placed centered on the lower punch. The upper die, which in the simplest case is held with one hand by the coin smith, is placed on the lying blank. With a hammer in the other hand, the mint smiths the upper die to generate the energy required for the minting. Often, even with a simple hammer minting, an assistant takes over the insertion and removal of the coins (see illustration below).

Hammer stamping to illustrate the profession of coin mint, woodcut from 1641

Groschen imprint with several strokes

Small silver coins of around one gram (medieval silver pennies ) could be minted with a single blow of the hammer. This did not apply to the much larger silver coins of the groschen type, which spread from the High Middle Ages . The wear of the upper punch as well as a double impact that only occurs in sectors indicate an embossing technique with several impacts. The upper punch was tilted slightly in a different direction after 1-2 strokes. Small coins were produced by hammer stamping until the 18th century.

Further developments

A similar problem arose when, at the turn of the 15th century, silver coins the size of thaler were first minted . These guilder groschen were supposed to correspond in value to the successful gold coins of the time (" guilders " of around 2.5 g). They therefore had a mass ( gross weight ) of almost 30 g. While the much smaller gold coins could be minted with a hammer weighing 2 kg, much heavier hammers now had to be used.

1646 thalers struck in Clausthal by means of hammer minting by Frederick IV , Prince of Lüneburg 1636–1648 ( Welter 1415)
1723 in Zellerfeld with the hammer minted Wildemannstaler George I , Elector of Braunschweig-Lüneburg 1698-1727 ( Welter 2231)

Flat-nose pliers ( Traité ) were sometimes used to better center the upper and lower punches and to reduce the risk of injury . With the Traité, the upper and lower stamps are held together with the inlaid flan. Another technical improvement was the clip mechanism , with which the guidance of the upper punch was improved again.

Hammer embossing is also used when using a clip mechanism. The hammer minting reaches its limit with large coins, which were often minted with extremely heavy hammers. Mechanical roller minting was invented as early as 1550 , a little later the push mechanism , with which “mechanical” coin minting began.

According to traditional technology, mints in the Harz (Clausthal, Zellerfeld, see below) still minted not only thalers, but also multiple thalers, in some cases until the middle of the 18th century.

Historical use of hammer embossing

This section contains information on the use of hammer embossing in individual mints. In particular, the time of the abandonment of hammer embossing and the reasons given are given.

  • Clausthal mint : Hammer minted until 1674. This is considered more dangerous, but also ensures a “more beautiful mint ”.
  • Zellerfeld Mint : Hammer minted until a shock mechanism was purchased in 1746. As late as 1705, the mint from the Zellerfeld hammer coin was praised as being among the most beautiful from Germany. Among other things, are bell Thaler , 1½ times thins and even triple solver using a hammer embossing prepared.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Old dimensions, coins and weights. A lexicon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, licensed edition Mannheim / Vienna / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-411-02148-9 , p. 391 ( coin mark ).
  2. ↑ Walter Kühn (1989) On hammer minting of late medieval coins in groschen size. NNB 10/1989, pp. 232-240. Available online, accessed August 23, 2015.
  3. ^ Peter Hammer (2005) On the creation of the taler. 8th International Symposium: Cultural Heritage in Geosciences, Mining and Metallurgy. Reports of the Federal Geological Institute ISSN  1017-8880 Volume 65, Vienna / Schwaz, pp. 72–73.
  4. ^ Gesche Löning, Claudia Küpper-Eichas (1994) The operation of the Clausthal mint 1617–1849. In: B. Gisevius, C. Küpper-Eichas, G. Löning, W. Schütze, C. Wiechmann (eds.) Die Münze zu Clausthal - Contributions to the history of the mint. Upper Harz History and Museum Association V., Studentenwerk Clausthal, Clausthal-Zellerdfeld, p. 13. - Quotation there from Gatterer (1785) p. 13
  5. ↑ Hans Burose (1984) on the history of the Zellerfeld coin. In: H. Burose, HE Kolb, WH Frank, E. Reiff (eds.) The Zellerfeld Mint - four contributions to the history of the old mint. Upper Harz History and Museum Association, Clausthal-Zellerfeld. Pp. 7-91

swell

  • Friedrich Frhr. v. Schrötter (Hrsg.): Dictionary of coinage . Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1970 (reprint of the original edition from 1930, 777 pages and 28 plates).