Prague groschen
The Prague Groschen ( Czech pražský groš , Latin grossus Pragensis , Polish grosz praski ), also known as the Bohemian Groschen in German-speaking countries , was first minted under the Bohemian King Wenceslaus II around 1300 in Kutná Hora (German: Kuttenberg ).
The obverse of the Prague groschen showed the Bohemian royal crown , the name of the monarch and the inscription DEI GRATIA REX BOEMIE ( By God's grace, King of Bohemia ), the lapel the Bohemian lion and the inscription GROSSI PRAGENSES.
history
In the 13th century, large silver ore deposits were discovered in Bohemia near Kutná Hora . In order to utilize the extracted silver, Wenzel II had a mint built in Kuttenberg . With the Ius regale montanorum , which regulated silver mining in the kingdom, Wenceslaus introduced the Prague groschen, which replaced the old bracteates . The pennies were despite their name, not in Prague dominated, but in Kutna Hora; at that time only gold coins were minted in Prague . The model for the Prague groschen was the French Tournose , which had been minted since 1266 . The huge amount of silver of about 6500 to 6800 kg per year for the time resulted in about 1,650,000 to 1,770,000 Prague groschen per year - enough to supply not only Bohemia, but also Poland and large parts of the German Empire with groschen. Since the Prague groschen were later minted in a poorer quality, they are sometimes found with counterstamps from German cities, which differentiated the good from the bad groschen. When the Taler of the Counts of Schlick were minted in Joachimstal from 1520 , the Prague groschen lost their importance. The last Prague groschen were minted in 1547.
After the penny currency was replaced in the Margraviate of Meißen around 1338/39, the Prague groschen were the model for the minting of the Meissen groschen struck on a large scale in the Freiberg mint .
Other mints in Bohemia
In addition to Kuttenberg , Preßnitz is documented as a medieval mint for the Bohemian groschen. The location of the lost mint is known today. The last remaining Pressnitz groschen, however, seem to have all been lost. A coin in the Annaberg City Museum is said to be such a Pressnitz Groschen, but this cannot currently be proven - lack of comparative copies. please refer:
For the silver coins minted in Sankt Joachimsthal see:
See also
- Saxon coin history # Groschenzeit
- Penny
- Kreuzer - a small cross groschen of 4 pfennigs, which has long been used as a denomination in southern German-speaking countries.
- Six of a kind or six , half a dime
Web links
- Coins in Bohemia: Prague groschen - in demand among business people across Europe - Report by Radio Praha on May 7, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heinz Fengler, Gerhard Gierow, Willy Unger: Transpress lexicon numismatics. 3. edit and exp. Edition 1982. Berlin 1976. p. 376 f. (See keyword: Prager Groschen)