- Prague groschen
The Prague groschen ( _cz. pražský groš, _la. grossi pragenses, _de. Prager Groschen, _pl. Grosz praski) was a
groschen -typesilver coin that became very common throughout theMedieval Central Europe .Coin
It is a silver coin with obverse sign "DEI GRATIA REX BOEMIE" ( _en. By the grace of God the king of Bohemia) and on the verso "GROSSI PRAGENSIS" ( _cs. Pražský groš, _en. Prague groschen). Weight of the coin related between 3,5 and 3,7 g with fineness 933/1000 of silver.
Sub-division were twelve coins called "parvus" ( _en. small) with bohemian heraldic lion sign on the obverse.
History
Minting of this coin started around
1300 after silver mines had been discovered in Hory Kutné during the reign of theBohemia n king Wenceslaus II. King Wenceslaus II. invited italian lawyerGozzius of Orvieto who created mining code "Ius regale montanorum" whose part was also a coin reform. This and high amount of silver found in Kutná hora resulted in the implementation of Prague groschen. Because of high amount of silver used in the coin it became one of the most popular of the early Groschen-type coins in the medieval Europe.In documents of the era, like the
Peace of Thorn (1411) , large amounts of money often were given in more convenient _la. sexagena of Prague groschen, which equals to _cs. kopa = 5dozen = 1/2small gross = 60.After the opening of new silver mines in
Jáchymov ("Joachimsthal") theThaler , in theBohemia known as "tolar", came in use.In1547 minting of Prague groschen was discontinued by Ferdinand I.Etymology
The inspiration came from
France where groschen were used since1266 and replaced old coin called "denar". The name came from the latin "denarius grossus" ( _en. thick denar).External links
*cs icon [http://www.radio.cz/cz/clanek/67907 History of Pražský groš]
*de icon [http://someoldcoins.org/saur/d/d203.htm Prager Groschen]
*de icon la icon [http://www1.uni-hamburg.de/Landesforschung/pub/3frame.html?/Landesforschung/pub/js-fs/js-fs24.htm Prager Groschen / "sexagenas grossorum bohemicalium boni argenti"]
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