New Catalogue "early Lithuanian Half-Groats 1495-1529"

Posted 03/19/2017 3:43 pm

Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The word "Lithuania" was mentioned for the first time in the annals of Quedlinburg (year 1009) that the story of Saint Bruno of Querfurt who was beheaded by the pagans "on the border of Lithuania and Rus".
MINDOWE (about 1200-1263) was the first well known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only Christian King of Lithuania.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the last pagan state in Europe, in 1385 only the monarch JAGIELLO ( Jogaila in Lithuanian, Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377-1434), later Wladyslaw II Jagiello, King of Poland (1386-1434)) converted his country to Catholicism.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, incorporating Lithuania proper, Belarus, western Ukraine, parts of today's Russia and Poland, became one of the most influential powers in Eastern Europe (14th-16th century). In a way, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a precursor of the European Union with the latter's adherence to the unity in diversity concept.
ALEXANDER JAGIELLON, Grand Duke of Lithuania from July 20, 1492, and King of Poland from December 12, 1501, instituted monetary reform in 1495 and a Lithuanian Mint was established. Coins were begun to be minted according to Western European technologies on thin plate blanks. The horseman - Lithuanian Knight appears on the obverse and the Polish Eagle on the reverse.
His brother SIGISMUND I THE OLD reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548. The monetary reforms were continued — in 1508, he indicated the minting date on the half-groats for the first time, while the first Lithuanian groat was minted in 1535-1536. He also, for the first time, depicted a double cross on the shield of the Lithuanian Knight and finished creating the Coat of Arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the first edition was written in 1529 and approved by King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund I the Old) were the first full codes of laws written in Europe since Roman law.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the largest state in Europe at that time would endure for more than two centuries, until it was finally partitioned among Russia, Prussia, and Austria in the late 18th century.
Lithuanian half-groats
The Lithuanian half-groats of Alexander became the first nation-wide currency in Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the end of the 15th century. Prior to that the individual regions of the country had different coins in circulation. The central regions of the state in the third quarter of 16th century began minting the Lithuanian groats that initially emerged as a half fraction of the base currency of the Eastern Europe of the late Middle Ages — the Prague groat. With time, as a result of the depreciation, this mint degraded into a lower denomination — a penny, which was in circulation mainly in the north-west of the country. The southern and eastern regions saw the emergence of their own coinage that oriented itself towards the monetary systems of the neighbors — Poland and the Golden Horde. Even at the end of the 15th century, in addition to Prague groats, countermarked Eastern (Crimean and Jujid) coins were also in circulation in the southern territories. A common tender was also the silver rouble bullions.
Seeking to supply the state with money for the war against the Duchy of Moscow, in 1495 Alexander Jagiellon pushed through a currency reform. The monetary system was simple: it was projected to mint two currency units — the penny and the half-groat. The countable unit was the groat, which consisted of 10 pence. This decimal system was the only one in Europe at that time. Lithuanian half-groats penetrated the Polish market since their value was 20 per cent higher than that of the Polish ones.
Lithuanian half-groats of Alexander Jagiellon — the oldest Lithuanian coins with the inscription including the name of the state — with the legends MONETA ALEXANDRI (coin of Alexander in Latin) on obverse and MAGNI DVCIS LITVANIE (the Grand Duke of Lithuania in Latin) on reverse were minted from 1495 to 1506. Lithuanian half-groats of Sigismund I the Old — the first dated Lithuanian coins—with the legends MONETA SIGISMVNDI (coin of Sigismund in Latin) and date on obverse and MAGNI DVCIS LITVANIE (the Grand Duke of Lithuania in Latin) on reverse were minted from 1508 to 1529 in Vilnius mint. The total quantity of coins issued was estimated as approximately 15-20 million half-groats in times of Alexander and approximately 25-30 million half-groats in times of Sigismund (Remecas 2002, pages 58-77).
The fundamentals of classification of the half-groats of Alexander and Sigismund the Old by type were laid in the works of D. Huletski (2006) and A. Gromyko (2008). These classifications are, with minor adjustments, the foundation of this catalogue.

Catalogue of Lithuanian half-groats 1495-1529 http://goccf.com/t/282866

Edited by giedrius
03/19/2017 3:49 pm

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New Catalogue "Early Lithuanian Half-Groats 1495-1529"