19 Medieval Currencies - MoneyMuseum



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Medieval

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It¡¯s an old wives¡¯ tale that the Middle Ages were dark and gloomy, although most people don¡¯t know

much about them. But a look behind the scenes into this fascinating period shows how varied and

colourful it really was.

And coins, or rather currencies, show that vividly. There were lots of currencies in the Middle Ages,

many of which have ended up in the cemetery of history, such as the ducatus or the florin. Many others,

such as the dobla or the gros, are only known to experts; some (the shilling, the farthing) are known

only to people old enough to remember Britain¡¯s pre-decimal currency, while yet others, such as the

groat, are known only from old fairy tales.

But whether they¡¯re remembered or forgotten, in the MoneyMuseum they all have a story to tell ...

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Albus

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These coins are white, and they remain white in circulation, too, thanks to their high silver content,

these so-called "white pfennigs." This type of groat (in German "Groschen"), bearing a portrait of St

Paul under a gothic canopy, was introduced by Kuno of Falkenstein, the archbishop of Trier in

Germany, in 1368. The coinage agreement between the Rhenish electoral princes of 1385 made it the

most important Rhenish silver coin. And since "noblesse oblige," it received a Latin name referring to

its colour. In the 16th century various coins were given this name; their value was less stable than their

colour, so that the "white pfennigs" became degraded to substandard coins even before the so-called

"age of tghe kipper and wipper" (melters and smelters), the period of coinage debasement in Germany.

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Augustalis

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This medieval gold coin was widespread under the German Emperor Frederick II (*1194, ?1250). On

its obverse, it shows an idealised portrait of Frederick wearing a laurel wreath, represented as on Roman

imperial coins. On the reverse the naturalistic representation of an eagle with the inscription

"FRIDERICVS IMP ROM CESAR AVG" equally imitates Roman models. The mint's strong relief is

conspicuous. As opposed to the rest of Europe, gold and copper coins were minted in southern Italy

throughout the Middle Ages, under Byzantium's influence.

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Batzen

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This German word refers to the Swiss, South German and northern Italian silver coins each worth four

kreuzers. They were introduced towards the end of the 15th century, when a shortage of groschen

(groats) had arisen in Switzerland and South Germany. Their name supposedly comes from the bear (in

old Swiss "betz") in the coat of arms of the city of Berne, which appeared on the first coins of this type.

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Bracteate

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Anyone going to market in the Middle Ages in central or southern Germany would most likely be

carrying some of these light coins, stamped only on one side. These thinnest of silver pfennigs were

produced from the 17th century on, and were named after the Latin word for thin sheet metal. They

were a local currency for short-term use, and had to be exchanged at the market every year for new

ones. A pity, really ¨C some of the coin portraits are actually very beautiful and of high artistic quality.

Coin collectors today regard them as the most attractive coins of the 12th to 14th centuries.

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