Modern Copper Token From Speculum Alchemiae In Prague

There is a lot to do in Prague, but of potential interest to our members is a tour of the Museum of Alchemy (also known as "Speculum Alchemiae"). This workspace from the late 16th Century was only discovered recently when the underground tunnels were filled by floodwaters and part of the street collapsed.

Perhaps most fascinating to me was the story dating back to 1579 AD where it was recorded that periodically a magical carriage pulled by flaming goats would leave the road above the laboratory and ride to the castle. My tour guide noted that with the flammable fumes of alcohol distillation filling up the underground lab and the tunnel connecting this space to the castle, it is possible that this phenomenon was simply a fireball inadvertently burning off the vapors filtering up through the cobblestones into the street.

I picked up this copper token on a recent trip to the museum. The obv design is a pair of retort flasks used to distill alcohol (evidently a major ingredient in the various love potions created here). The flasks are joined in a pattern similar to the symbol for infinity or perhaps a double-looped ourboros. The rev inscription and portrait refer to King Rudolf II, who was the patron of this laboratory.