Saxon coin separation
During the time of the Saxon coin separation , the common coinage agreed in the Leipzig main division in 1485 between the Ernestines and Albertines was temporarily suspended from 1530 to the end of 1533. When the Ernestines lost their electoral dignity to the Albertines in 1547 , the previous fraternal coinage was finally ended. The new elector only minted in his own name.
history
Separation of coins from 1530 to 1533
In 1530 it became apparent that the Rhenish gold gulden , whose silver equivalent was the guldengroschen, was declining not insignificantly in fineness . At a conference in Augsburg it was stated that “the good old coins would be broken, sawn up, sold by carts, and worse and worse coins were minted in their place”. The negotiation of the councils of Elector Johann the Constant (1486 / 1525–1532) and Duke George the Bearded (1500–1539) in Zeitz on reducing the fineness of the silver guilders did not lead to any result, nor did the repetition of the negotiation in Torgau . The elector demanded the reduction of the silver content, the duke insisted on the old value of the coins. Duke Georg was of the opinion that legality required that the value of the guilder groschen assumed by the population must be maintained. In contrast, Elector Johann claimed that the high-quality Saxon guilders harmed the population, as they were brought out of the country by usurers and that less money was imported for it.
Before the coin was separated, the coinage rules of 1500:
,_Taler,_Annaberg,_CNG.jpg)
| Nominal | Weight (g) | Fineness (0/00) |
|---|---|---|
| gulden | 29.23 | 937.5 (1505 reduced to 930.56) |
| ½ guilder | 14.62 | 937.5 (1505 reduced to 930.56) |
| Schreckenberger (⅟ 7 Gulden) | 4.5 | 866.32 |
| Zinsgroschen (⅟ 21 Gulden) | 2.66 | 482.64 |
| ½ sword groschen (⅟ 42 guilders) | 2.23 | 284.72 |
| Pfennig (⅟ 252 guilders) | 0.4 | 265.72 |
| Heller (⅟ 504 guilders) | 0.23 | 187.5 |
As a result of these differences of opinion, between 1530 and the end of 1533 there was a coin separation between the two minters Johann the Constant and George the Bearded. The Elector had the common Schneeberg mint on Ernestine territory shut down and instead put the Zwickau mint temporarily back into operation in 1530 . In this coin and in the Buchholz coin , he had it minted with a lighter standard .
Sole coinage of John the Constant
The following manifestations occurred under Elector Johann during the coin separation from 1530:
| Nominal | Weight (g) | Fineness (0/00) |
|---|---|---|
| Guilder (at 21 groschen) | 29.23 | 875 |
| ½ guilder (to 10½ groschen) | 14.62 | 875 |
| Schreckberger (at 3 groschen) | 4.5 | 812.5 |
| Penny | 2.66 | 458.33 |
| ½ groschen | 2.23 | 273.44 |
| Dreipfenniggröschlein (¼ Groschen) | 1.19 | 252.21 |
The coin deterioration was not officially announced. The gross weight of the nominal remained unchanged. Mintmaster Sebastian Funke used his mintmaster's mark, St. Andrew's Cross, for all denominations, as in Schneeberg , but did not give the year.
The inscription on the taler coin of Johann's sole minting reads:
- IOHANNES ELECTOR FIER (i) FECIT // MONETA NOVA DVCIS SAXONI (ae)
Translation:
- Elector Johann had (this coin) made. // New coin from the Duke of Saxony.
Sole coinage of George the Bearded
_-_Bildnis_Barbara_von_Sachsen_(priv._Coll.).jpg)
Duke Georg had the mints in Freiberg , Leipzig and Annaberg minted according to the previous quality.
His new stamp, which only shows his own portrait without that of the Elector, is inscribed NAW MVNTZ HERZOG GEORGEN ZV SAXE and on the opposite side the quality of the coin is indicated: AFTER THE OLD SCRAP VND KORN .
For the first time in German coin history, the quality designation appears on the coins. (This quality designation is once again found on the Pallastalern of the Weimar Mint and the Reinhardsbrunn Mint , after Duke Johann Ernst I of Saxony-Weimar (1594–1626) as the first Duke of the Wettins in the years 1622/23 Tipper coins were minted, Reichstaler had minted.) Also new is the coin inscription in German. It was not until 1817 that German coin inscriptions became common again on Saxon coins.
In addition to the mint master's mark, Duke Georg's pfennigs and threesomes also featured a number riddle at the time of his sole minting: a small mark consisting of a seven and a Z-like written two , which are interlaced. The seven means the seventh letter and the two the second letter of the alphabet. They are the first letters of the names Georg and Barbara , the mint owner and his wife.
As early as 1531, the state estates of both minters decided in the so-called Grimmaic power of power that Duke Georg had to cede his claim to half of the Schneeberg mint to the elector. For this purpose, the Zwickau Mint is to be moved back to Schneeberg. Duke Georg was allowed to continue minting alone, but should also have coins minted at a lighter footing than before.
Coin agreement
On November 18, 1533, the electoral and duke's estates published an explanation of the Grimmaic power of attorney: From 1534 onwards, it is to be coined again. The reduction is said to be half a place (one eighth of a guldengroschen on the fine mark), according to which Duke Georg has to act.
From the fine silver mark , coins worth 180 groschen 6½ pfennig could no longer be issued, but instead coins worth 194 groschen 10 pfennig. A compromise had been reached. The gold groschen could keep their silver content like before the Saxon coin separation. The silver content of the small coins should be reduced in accordance with the devaluation of the Rhenish gold guilder. The consequence of this was that the silver guilder lost its value equality with the Rhenish gold guilder.
In 1534, the former coin community came into force again under Elector Johann Friedrich [1532–1547– (1554)] and Georg the Bearded. The Wettins moved the Zwickau mint back to Schneeberg. Duke Georg issued a valvation , that is, a valuation of foreign coins. In it, the duke stipulated which foreign coins were allowed to circulate in the Saxon lands and which were forbidden for circulation.
In the new Saxon coinage system of January 20, 1534, the weight and fineness of the coins to be minted jointly were determined:
| Nominal | Weight (g) | Fineness (0/00) |
|---|---|---|
| Guldengroschen (Guldengroschen) | 29.23 | 902.78 |
| ½ guldengroschen | 14.62 | 902.78 |
| ¼ guldengroschen | 7.31 | 902.78 |
| Interest groschen at 12 pfennigs | 2.66 | 469 |
| Dreier (Dreipfenniggröschlein) | 1.19 | 250 |
| Pennies | 0.4 | 250 |
The inscription on the thaler of the Johann Friedrichs und Georgs coin community reads:
- IOHAN (nes) FRI (dericus) ELEC (tor) DUX SAX (oniae) F (ieri) F (ecit) // GEOR (gius) DVX SAX (oniae) FI (eri) F (ecit) A (nno) (1535 )
Translation:
- Elector Johann Friedrich, Duke of Saxony, had (this coin) made. // Georg, Duke of Saxony, had (this coin) made in (1535).
Duke Georg wears a large full beard as a token of mourning for his wife Barbara of Poland, who died on February 15, 1534. - Compare the coin images.
The Schmalkaldic Bundestaler struck in Goslar from 1542 to 1547 as joint coinage of the Elector Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous and Landgrave Philipp von Hessen (1518–1567), the two leaders of the Schmalkaldic League , and its parts were also issued according to this coinage system.
Final coin separation
Since the battle of Mühlberg in 1547 and the award of the Saxon electoral dignity to the Albertines, the joint coinage agreed in the Leipzig main division of 1485 between the Ernestines and Albertines had been finally abandoned. After assuming the electoral dignity, Albertine Saxony played the leading role among the Wettin principalities. The new Albertine Elector Moritz (1541–1547–1553) only minted in his own name.
On March 27, 1549 Moritz von Torgau issued his own Saxon coinage system. He set the weight of the coin to be the Erfurt mark, which in the Middle Ages corresponded to the Cologne mark , but in modern times had a difference of about one gram:
| Nominal | Weight (g) | Fineness (0/00) |
|---|---|---|
| Guldengroschen (gold groschen) to 24 groschen | 29.23 | 902.78 |
| ½ guldengroschen to 12 groschen | 14.62 | 902.78 |
| Local groschen (¼ guldengroschen) to 6 groschen | 7.31 | 902.78 |
| Interest groschen (⅟ 21 guilder groschen) | 2.66 | 454.86 |
| Three (¼ groschen or ⅟ 84 guilder groschen) | 1.19 | 243.06 |
| Pfennig (⅟ 12 Groschen) | 0.4 | 243.06 |
| Lighter (⅟ 24 Groschen) | 0.23 | 187.5 |
Moritz reintroduced the coinage of Hellern and reduced the fineness of interest groschen, threesomes and pennies.
The inscription on the Talermünze of Elector Moritz reads:
- MAVRICI (us) D (ei) G (ratia) DVX SAX (oniae) SA (cri) ROM (ani) IM (perii) // ARCHIMARSCHAL (lus) ET ELE (ctor)
Translation:
- Moritz, by the grace of God Duke of Saxony, Archmarshal and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire.
The exception
Johann Friedrich Klotzsch noted when describing the three-brother thalers in Electoral Saxony that the mint stamps for the minting of these thalers changed remarkably. The final separation of coins decided by Elector Moritz also meant that “only a half-length portrait, just a name of the sovereign” was stamped on the coins. "The right of the firstborn, " said Klotzsch, "was brought to this house in the Landes Succeßion [sucession (successor)] [...]".
See also
literature
- Walther Haupt : Saxon coinage. Berlin 1974, DNB 750321520 .
- Paul Arnold: Walther Haupt and his “Saxon Coin Studies” . In: Numismatic notebooks. No. 20, Dresden 1986.
- Paul Arnold: Elector August (1553–1586) and the Saxon coinage . In: Numismatic notebooks. No. 20, Dresden 1986.
- Julius Erbstein , Albert Erbstein : Discussions in the field of the Saxon coin and medal history when listing the Hofrath Engelhardt's collection. Dresden 1888.
- Tristan Weber: The Saxon coinage from 1500 to 1571. A quantitative study. Gietelverlag 2010, ISBN 978-3-86646-827-6 .
- Gernot Schnee: Saxon Taler from 1500 to 1800. Frankfurt am Main 1982, ISBN 3-921302-36-6 .
- Heinz Fengler, Gerd Gierow, Willy Unger: transpress Lexicon Numismatics. transpress, Berlin 1976, DNB 770168620 .
- Friedrich von Schrötter , N. Bauer, K. Regling, A. Suhle, R. Vasmer, J. Wilcke: Dictionary of coinage. Berlin 1970, DNB 458690163 . (Reprint of the original edition from 1930)
- Johann Christoph Stößel: Attempt at a Chur-Saxon coin history. First part. Chemnitz 1779.
Web links
- coingalery. de: George alone, 1530–1533
- coingallery.de: Coinings as Elector from 1547
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Arnold: The Saxon Thaler Currency from 1500 to 1763 , p. 58, Swiss Numismatic Rundschau, Volume 59, 1980
- ↑ Paul Arnold: The Saxon Taler Currency from 1500 to 1763 , p. 62, Swiss Numismatic Rundschau, Volume 59, 1980
- ↑ mcsearch.info: Elector Johann the Steadfast , sole coinage, gulden (Taler) undated , mint master mark Andreaskreuz, Zwickau
- ↑ Dreier Georgs 1533 with a number puzzle
- ^ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde. Berlin 1974, p. 111.
- ^ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde. Berlin 1974, p. 113.
- ↑ Paul Arnold: The Saxon Taler Currency from 1500 to 1763 , p. 62, Swiss Numismatic Rundschau, Volume 59, 1980
- ^ Paul Arnold: Elector August (1553–1586) and the Saxon coinage . In numismatic notebooks. No. 20, Dresden 1986, p. 13.
- ^ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde. Berlin 1974, p. 120.
- ^ Johann Friederich Klotzsch: Attempt of a Chur-Saxon coin history. (1770), p. 415