Eight Weeks Of Dated European Coinage (1234 To 1500 Ad)

I'm taking a (short) break from the coins of Cologne with this next coin. This Horngroschen is from the German Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg. It was minted in Colditz (double cross mintmark) in 1465 AD. The obv legend is E A D G DVCS SAX TUR L MARCH HISS while the rev legend is W D G DVX SAX TVR L MARCH HIS 6~ (where that tilde is actually a sideways number 5). You may notice that my obv pic is rotated about 30° clockwise as I was trying to make the shield look straight rather than the helmet. The attribution is Levinson I-95.

One thing that I find striking about the design of these coins is the similarity between the two sides. There are differences which likely would have been very noticeable to the unwashed masses in 1465, but for the modern collector who is not so acquainted with heraldry, these details seem pretty minor. For example, the obv contains the helmet of Saxony leaning against the shield of Saxony while the rev contains the helmet of Thuringen leaning against the shield of Thuringen.

I'm still following this thread and finding it very interesting.

After reading your other thread on the 'S' is it true that these coins are now showing a more standardised form?Or am I completely off-ball

Saludos Paul

thanks @scopru for the praise. I still have a few more tucked away for posting soon.

Paul, yes by the late 1400s, English typography had settled down quite a bit, although, as I have noted in several places in this thread, some of the numbers were still being finalized. For example, the 1465 Horngroschen that I posted above was made with a horizontally oriented number 5 in the inscription.

It is my opinion that the printing press (1440 AD) had a lot to do with this standardization, but I would be very interested in alternate opinions.

Here is another Horngroschen from Saxony (last one for at least a little while I promise). This one is dated a few years later than the previous one--1469 AD. It was minted in Leipsig. As before, the mintmark is the star at the beginning of both inscriptions. The obv legend is E A D G DVCS SAX TVR L MARCH HIS while the rev legend is W D G DVX SAX TVR L MARCH HIS 69. According to Levinson, one die of this variety has the date on the obv rather than the rev (like mine). Oddly, the dates are often kinda squeezed on many of this type--in this one the numeral 9 almost looks like an apostrophe. The attribution is Levinson I-127.

Back on page 7 of this thread @collects82 had posted his 1/2 Schwertgroschen from Saxony dated 1482 AD. Here is a brother to that same coin. Of course, mine is a bit more tired having been folded nearly in half at some point in the last 500+ years. The attribution is Levinson I-185. Levinson points out the that the date was frozen on this coin and so these were struck through 1485. This may account for their relatively plentiful numbers. I'm probably due for an upgrade...

I do not collect this series, but happen to have one. If the information is incorrect, please correct it.



Aachen as a free city.
+ANNO DOMINI: MILLESIMO CCCC: XI D [look at the image for details of the date which are not totally clear near the end. The CCCC begins at 9:00 on the reverse]
See: http://www.medievalcoinage.com/earl...ed/1370s.htm
for the type with various dates.

The next coin that I'd like to post is a Schilling from the German Duchy of Pommerania. It was minted in Garz and is dated 1489 AD. The obv inscription is BVGSLAS DG DVX STETIN while the rev inscription is MOHETA NO VAGA RE 89. The attribution is Levinson I-243.

Some of you may remember this coin from a short piece that I did on Pommerania:
http://goccf.com/t/261872

@regularguy, first welcome to CCF! I'm really glad that you found us via this thread.

Second, yes several of these early dated coins were frozen for multiple years. Yours is a perfect addition. Thanks for posting!