Contribution coin
Contribution coins (from the Latin contribuere , "to contribute") are pieces of money made from precious metals that were voluntarily donated or confiscated to the state by citizens or the church in crisis situations. The melting down of one's own, donated or looted objects made of precious metal for the purpose of minting coins in times of crisis, be it from the property of the rulers, the church or the citizens, is already documented in antiquity and there are examples from the 16th to 18th centuries . The coins that were made before the end of the 18th century have in common that they do not reveal the origin of the metal used in their manufacture.
In the numismatics Kontributionstaler are familiar, but there are also appropriate ducats, guilders or twenties. The narrow interpretation of the term “contribution coin” only includes those pieces which, through inscriptions or inscriptions, indicate that the minting material used comes from the churches or from a general collection among the people. It is a term that was not used when the coins were created, but only found its way into numismatics at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
These contributions in the sense of war taxes were to be borne by the general public and could either flow to the own state to finance existing or expected war burdens, or contribute to compulsory levies on the victors or the occupying powers. However, the volume of money raised through the collection campaigns was so small in relation to the burdens of war or the indebtedness of the states incurred for other reasons that the measures did not achieve the intended purpose. Even as an instrument of state propaganda, the coins were only able to develop a limited effect, since the foreign currencies imprinted , especially often in Latin, were only accessible to the higher classes. In addition, almost exclusively high-quality coins were issued that could not reach the general public.
First coalition war (1792–1797)
In the First Coalition War between Austria, Prussia and other German states against the French Republic (1794–1796), some clerical minters in German states minted taler coins with references such as “Pro Deo et Patria” (for God and Fatherland). They were minted from silver from the churches and from silver donations from citizens and were intended to cover the dioceses' share of the war costs. The melting down of sacred objects was mostly excluded.
Bamberg Monastery
On October 2, 1794, the chapter of the wealthy Haug collegiate monastery decided to make all expendable church silver available for the relief of the state treasury. Two thirds of the amount should be given as a five-year interest-free loan with 3% interest for the following period, one third should remain with the pen as an emergency reserve. More pens followed suit. In December 1794, Franz Ludwig von Erthal , Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Würzburg, ordered court silver to be sorted out. Only a silver service for 24 people, required candlesticks, the silver for church purposes as well as gold and gold-plated silverware should remain at the court. The prince-bishop saw this measure as a gift to his subjects, whom he wanted to protect from even higher tax burdens, and took an active part in the design of the coins and in the preparation of the production. After the Prince-Bishop's death in February 1795, the minting of the death coins took precedence, so that the contribution thalers were only delivered posthumously from July 1795. The speciestaler was labeled "TO THE BEST OF THE FATHERLAND" and is also known as the "Vaterlandstaler".
Eichstätt Monastery
From September 11 to September 15, 1796, the Eichstätt Monastery was occupied by French troops. Prince-Bishop Joseph von Stubenberg fled to Graz, but first arranged for a special thaler, the so-called Stubenberg taler, to be minted, based on the example of the Hochstifte to the north. The reverse bears the chronogram “' V' AS ' CVLI' SA ' VL' AE ARGENTE ' I' S PATR ' I' AE ' I' N ' DI' GENT ' I MI' N ' I' STRA ' VI' RA ' VXILI' A “, resolved the year 1796. Here, too, the purpose of the coinage is less to be seen in a contribution to the occupying power, but in the rehabilitation of state finances without further burdening the population.
Imperial city of Frankfurt am Main
On July 16, 1796, French troops occupied the city and took numerous councilors hostage. In order to be able to meet the demands of the occupiers for a contribution of eight million livres , including six million in cash, public collections of precious metal were carried out from citizens and churches, and a large part of the council silver was melted down. The contribution coins of Frankfurt stand out from the minting of the prince-bishoprics in that most of the silver required was raised by the citizens and that their issuance was directly related to war contributions. The gold ducat of the imperial city of Frankfurt bears the inscription "FROM THE GEFAESEN OF THE CHURCHES AND BURGERS OF THE CITY FRANCKFURT", the silver contribution thalers have the same text as an inscription, divided on the front and back.
Fulda Monastery
In the summer of 1794, Prince-Bishop Adalbert von Harstall rejected two loan applications from the Reich, referring to the aid that had already been provided and the tense financial situation. Due to financial problems of the court and possibly under the impression of the court silver donation of the recently deceased Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Würzburg, Adalbert decreed in March 1795 that court silver, without liturgical objects, be separated. Several speciestalers were minted from the silver that became available in this way in 1795 and 1796, and also half thalers or gulden in 1796 . The inscription "PRO DEO ET PATRIA" shown on the coins was a slight modification of the Prince-Bishop's motto "Deo et Patriae". As in Bamberg and Würzburg, coinage from the ruler's silver was seen as a gift to his people.
Duchy of Luxembourg
As early as January 1794, the Archbishop and Elector of Trier had asked the church leaders in Luxembourg to deliver silver to the war chest in Brussels. From November 21, 1794 to June 7, 1795, the Austrians were besieged by French troops in the fortress of Luxembourg. To pay the soldiers, on the orders of Field Marshal Blasius Columban von Bender, copper coins were poured into a sol and silver coins were minted to 72 assis, corresponding to a speciestaler. Due to the adverse circumstances and their character as emergency coins , the silver coins had a strongly fluctuating weight and were designed very simply. On the front was the five-line lettering "AD / USUM / LUXEMBURGI / C (IR) C (VM) VALLATI / 1795" ("for use in besieged Luxembourg"). Only the three-line inscription "LXXII / ASSES / 13" ("72 / Einheit / 13") on the back confirms the origin of the material. The top line shows the value level, below is the currency unit. To avoid confusion with regular coins, no common currency denomination was chosen, but the denomination of a Strasbourg coin that is no longer in circulation. The indication “13” denotes the alloy, and 13 Lot was not a high-quality coin alloy, but the standard alloy for table silver.
Electorate of Mainz
In 1794, under Archbishop and Elector Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, collections were organized in connection with a loan to finance the costs of the war. The reinforcement and national defense conference decided on August 5, 1794 to request the archbishop's general vicariate to mint church silver. The processing of the expendable court silver also belonged to the further measures. Was coined a speciedaler with the back inscription "EX VASIS ARGENT cleri MOGVNT PRO ARIS ET Focis". It is not certain that the Mainz ducats with the inscription "SALVS PVBLICA", minted in 1795, were also made from donated metal.
Electorate of Trier
A contribution thaler was struck in Trier in 1794 under Archbishop and Elector Clemens Wenzeslaus of Saxony . For this purpose, the ecclesiastical bodies were initially authorized to give up their silver to finance a loan to control general war needs and to strengthen the state treasuries. In addition to 17 pens and chapels, only 2 private individuals appear on a drawing list for this bond. Nevertheless, the coin, which appeared in two versions with depictions of the elector of different sizes on the obverse, bears the chronogram “E ' X V' AS ' I' S ARGENTE ' I' S ' I' N ' V' S ' VM' PATR ' I' AE S ' I' NE ' C' ENS ' I' B ' V' S ' D' AT ' I' SA ' CL' ERO ET PR ' IV' AT ' I' S ”(roughly:“ from silver vessels, donated to the fatherland by clergy and citizens ”), which when dissolved results in the year 1794. The collections brought in more than 60,000 guilders, more than half of which came from the cathedral chapter.
Würzburg Monastery
The ruling Prince-Bishop Franz Ludwig von Erthal also delivered parts of the court silver for minting in Würzburg . Due to delays in the delivery of silver, some of the silver was only processed after Franz Ludwig's death in 1795. In 1794 and 1795, two differently designed special thalers were minted, both of which bore the inscription "PRO PATRIA". The twenties (in the sense of 20 kreuzers, or 1/6 thalers), minted in several variants from a 583 silver alloy in 1795 , also had this inscription, the coin was more common as an average value. A shilling, also made in 1795 under Franz Ludwig's successor, Prince-Bishop Georg Karl von Fechenbach, from Billon with the use of silver, does not bear any inscriptions with reference to the origin of the silver or its purpose.
Wars of Liberation (1813-1815)
Russia and Prussia's coalition against France, formed in 1813, later joined Austria and other German states. After the Congress of Vienna and Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo , there was a nationalist mood in Germany. The need to rehabilitate the state finances that were burdened by the war led to the issuance of contribution coins with a patriotic character in several states.
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Under Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I , the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin produced the silver fatherland gulden at 2/3 thalers with the inscription "DEM FATHERLAND" in 1813. The silver used came from a collection that was carried out for the benefit of the establishment of a military unit.
Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach
In 1815, Grand Duke Karl August had a thaler minted with the inscription "DEM VATERLANDE" on the reverse. Like several others, this coin is also known as the Vaterlandstaler .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Niklot Klüßendorf: War financing and precious metal collections at the end of the Ancien Régime. In: Carmen Alfaro, Carmen Marcos, Paloma Otero (eds.): Actas del XIII Congreso Internacional de Numismática, Madrid. Volume II, Ministerio de Cultura, Madrid 2003, ISBN 84-8181-264-1 , pp. 1477–1482, (online PDF; 160 kB, accessed on August 16, 2013)
- ↑ a b Friedrich Freiherr von Schrötter : Dictionary of Coin Studies. Published by Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin / Leipzig 1930.
- ↑ a b Konrad Klütz : Lexicon of coin names. Outline of an etymological order of the coin names. Part 12. In: money trend Volume 39 , Issue 1, 2007 ISSN 1420-4576 , p. 105.
- ↑ a b Jochen Klauss: Anna Amalia and Carl August in a coin and medal portrait. A contribution to the self-portrayal of the dynasty in the time of the upheaval of the epochs. In: Hellmut Th. Seemann (ed.): Anna Amalia, Carl August and the Weimar event. Yearbook of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar 2007. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2007, pp. 65–78. (online PDF; 241 kB, accessed on August 15, 2013)
- ↑ Joseph Good fields: Franz Ludwig, Prince Bishop of Bamberg and Würzburg, Duke of Franken in his coins. Invitation to the unveiling ceremony of the bronze statue dedicated by Sr. Majesty to King Ludwig I of Bavaria to this Prince of Bamberg. Bamberg 1864, pp. 28-30.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Niklot Klüßendorf: Precious metal collections to finance war at the end of the Old Kingdom. In: Treatises of the Braunschweigische Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft. Volume 53, 2003, ISSN 0068-0737 , pp. 97-135. (online PDF; 7,125 kB, accessed on August 15, 2013) ( Memento from January 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Ignaz Hinkelbein: I. The former Fulda monastery coins and medals, from the Middle Ages and more recent times, collected and described by a Fuldaer. In: Buchonia. A journal for patriotic history, antiquity, geography, statistics, etc. Topography. Volume 3, 1828, pp. 1-82.
- ↑ Chester L. Krause Clifford Mishler, Colin R. Bruce (Eds.): Standard Catalog of World Coins. Eighteenth Century. 1701-1800. Third edition. Krause Publications, Iola (WI), USA 2002, pp. 942-943.