Prague groschen
The Prague groschen (
Medieval Central Europe
.
Etymology
The inspiration came from
gros tournois
), and replaced old coins called denar. The name came from the Latin denarius grossus (English: thick denar).
Coin
It is a silver coin with on the obverse the legend DEI GRATIA REX BOEMIE ("By the grace of God the King of Bohemia") and on the reverse GROSSI PRAGENSES ("Prague groschen"). The weight of the coin varies between 3.5 and 3.7 g with a fineness of 933/1000 of silver.
The groschen was subdivided into twelve parvus ("small") coins with a Bohemian heraldic lion sign on the obverse.
History
Minting of this coin started around 1300 after silver mines had been discovered in
Bohemian king Wenceslaus II. King Wenceslaus II invited the Italian lawyer Gozzius of Orvieto to create a mining code Ius regale montanorum which was also partly a reform of the coinage. This, and the high amount of silver found in Kutná Hora, resulted in the implementation of the Prague groschen. Because of the high amount of silver used in the coin, it became one of the most popular of the early Groschen-type
coins in medieval Europe.
In documents of the era, like e.g. the
small gross = 60
.
After the opening of new silver mines in
Bohemian Crown lands. Nevertheless, Prague groschen were still valid and in circulation until 1644 when king Ferdinand III
finally prohibited their further use.
See also
- Meissen groschen, modelled on the Prague groschen
- Kraków grosz, an unsuccessful attempt of Polish king Casimir III the Great to imitate the Prague model
- Tolar, another Bohemian coin that replaced the Prague groschen both internally and abroad
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prague groschen.
External links
- History of Pražský groš (in Czech)
- Prager Groschen / sexagenas grossorum bohemicalium boni argenti (in German and Latin)
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