Schauenstein Mint

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The Schauenstein mint was one of the twelve tipper mints in the Principality of Bayreuth and the one that opened the latest. It was located in a converted watermill in Schauenstein and was only in operation in 1622. Only silver six-parters were minted there. She used "S" or "SS" as the mint mark.

history

A bailiff of Margrave Christian , Hans Heinrich von Reitzenstein auf Selbitz, appeared as a coin entrepreneur . As a margrave chamberlain , he originally only had to control the silver trade. After receiving permission from the margrave to operate a mint, he leased the Dorschenhammer mill on the Selbitz in Schauenstein from the Schauenstein Vogt David Grenz . The lease provided for a quantity-dependent lease. In order to be able to mint coins, the mill had to be rebuilt. According to the Schlagschatzbuch, the mint was set up by Valentin Wolfram, the former smelter on the hammer in Weißenstadt . On January 20, 1622, the mint master Joachim Fründt was also committed. At least in the beginning, the two must have acted as mint masters, because there are also coins with Wolfram's initials "VW". The painter Hans Friedrich Brentel (II) was employed as a coin cutter .

Production started at the beginning of March, but the renovation was not yet completed on March 4th. After the meeting of the heads of all twelve mints of the Principality of Bayreuth on that day in Kulmbach , the margrave gave the rescript on March 7th, which , following Hans Abel's suggestion, stipulated that 26 guilders, corresponding to 65 six-parters, should be made from a four-solder mark . On April 28, 1622, David Grenz was very disappointed about the low utilization of his mill, which brought him barely 25 fl profit per week , while his hammer mill had generated a weekly surplus of 200 guilders.

The mint was canceled by his secretary Andreas Heidemann on September 28, 1622 by order of the margrave. He made the inventory, locked the mint and brought the valuables to the Plassenburg . The Schlagschatz had been carried away for 23 weeks from March 23 to August 31, 1622. Although less involved, Valentin Wolfram was fined 1000 Reichstalers on January 15, 1623, because the tipper coins were too low.

Production size

Exact production figures have not been reported. The production size can still be quantified using several factors. When estimating the amount of the lease payments to the mill owner, which was based on the amount of minted silver, one comes to April 1622, when about 2000 marks of silver were processed there within 24 days , with an assumed rough weight of 3.4 grams per piece based on a weekly production of around 40,000 six-biters. According to the estimate by Grimm, who accepts the dues to the sovereign in the amount of 5 percent of the nominal value, one comes to a weekly production of 50,000 Sechsbätzner with a treasure trove of 1000 guilders . The entrepreneur's calculation, e.g. B. von Hans Abel, which he did for the Kulmbach law firm on February 7, 1622 , results in the maximum weekly production of 78,000 six-biters with a strike treasure of also 1000 guilders and a weekly coinage of 300 marks of fine silver.

Notes and individual references

  1. ^ Gerhard Schön: Münz- und Geldgeschichte ... , p. 105
  2. ↑ a b c Gerhard Schön: Münz- und Geldgeschichte ... , p. 241
  3. ^ Gerhard Schön: Münz- und Geldgeschichte ... , p. 126
  4. ↑ a b Gerhard Schön: Münz- und Geldgeschichte ... , p. 109
  5. ^ Gerhard Schön: Münz- und Geldgeschichte ... , p. 243
  6. ↑ Matthias Grimm: Forgotten. So far unknown Schwarzburg tipper coins from the coin find of Saalfeld . In: “Geldgeschichtliche Nachrichten”, 2008, p. 134
  7. ^ Gerhard Schön: Münz- und Geldgeschichte ... , p. 56

literature

Web links

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