Search results

1

Finds of Illyrian coin hoards from the territories of Greek Illyria. An attempt at reconstructing the circulation of coinage based on the range of particular emissions

100%

Daniel M.

Światowit

|

2018

|

vol. 57

129-141

EN

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the circulation of coinage through an analysis of finds of hoards of ‘Illyrian coins’ from the territory of Greek Illyria in the period from the 4th to the 1st century BC. To this end, hoards from modern-day Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Serbia, that is the maximum territorial extent of the so-called ‘Illyrian state’, were compiled in a catalogue. This catalogue of hoards of Illyrian coins served as a basis for producing dedicated maps which present data in a cumulative form, as well as sorted by date and place of issue. Distribution of finds in relation to terrain and settlement patterns was studied in order to locate concentrations of coins of given centres in different periods. Additionally, important observations concerned places in which coin hoards are absent or very scarce. The catalogue was also useful for tracing patterns in the composition of the hoards – those consisting of coins most commonly minted together and those dominated by coins of differing provenance.

2

Pinpointing Unrest at Palmyra in the Early Islamic Period. The Evidence from Coin Hoards and Written Sources

86%

Intagliata E. E.

Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences)

|

2018

|

vol. XXXI

181-194

EN

This article collates the evidence of coin hoards from Palmyra in order to reflect on the causes behind some of the most dramatic events that befell the city in Late Antiquity and early Islam. After having stressed the importance of coin hoards as sources to reconstruct the city’s past by looking at a couple of examples dated to the fourth century AD, the article moves on to the early Islamic period. It argues that the unusual concentration of coin hoards dated to the second half of the seventh century suggests that the city underwent a period of unrest at that time and reflects on the causes that might have triggered it.

3

Niespokojne lata. Pieniądz na pograniczu Królestwa Polskiego i Zakonu Krzyżackiego w latach 1410-1466

86%

Musiałowski A.

Acta Archaeologica Lodziensia

|

2015

|

vol. 61

67-76

PL

Przedmiotem artykułu jest analiza 46 skarbów monet odkrytych na terenach konfliktów zbrojnych Królestwa Polskiego oraz Zakonu Krzyżackiego. W jej efekcie stwierdzić można, że napięcia te nie miały znaczącego wpływu na wzajemne relacje gospodarcze obu krajów oraz na obieg pieniężny na tym terenie. Struktura skarbów monet wskazuje, iż odzwierciedlają one potrzeby ekonomiczne obu stron.

EN

An analysis of 46 coin hoards discovered in the border area of the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order inclines one to the belief that the series of military conflicts between these two states had no significant impact on their economic relations or on monetary circulation. The structure of the hoards reflects the material possessions of the local population, as well as their needs as consumers on both sides of the frontier.

4

Hoards from Hellenistic to Kushan Central Asia: Towards Some Interpretations

86%

Morris L.

Studia Hercynia

|

2023

|

vol. 27

|

issue 1

151-177

EN

This article is concerned with the interpretation of diverse examples of hoards (intentional deposits of valuable objects) from Central Asia’s Hellenistic and Kushan periods that are traditionally understood in utilitarian terms. As a means of comparison, it first reviews useful insights from the study of hoards in Bronze Age Europe and coin hoards, where simplistic classifications and interpretations of hoards (especially as representative of strictly ritual or utilitarian behaviour) have been increasingly problematised. The case of the Begram hoard is then discussed in reference to these insights. Arguably, this find represents not the remains of a palatial treasure or merchant’s cache, but perhaps rather material selected from the property of a religious institution that was deposited and abandoned as late as the early 4th century AD, and reflecting both ritual and utilitarian considerations. The interpretations of additional cases of diverse hoards from Ai Khanoum, Taxila, the Oxus Temple, Daľverzintepe, and Mir Zakah are then reconsidered, highlighting common shortcomings in the interpretation of coin hoards in the field, the diverse ways these finds shed light on economic, social, and ritual behaviour, and the necessity for critical interrogation of frequently presumed direct links between unrecovered hoards and expected invasions.

5

Nowe znaleziska skarbów i monet wczesnośredniowiecznych pozyskane w trakcie badań powierzchniowych prowadzonych w pobliżu Ostrowa Lednickiego

86%

Tabaka A., Malarczyk D., Ilisch P.

|

2022

|

vol. 21

165-237

EN

This article is a continuation of earlier studies of coins and Roman clasps discovered during surface surveys conducted with metal detectors on the eastern and southern shores of Lednica Lake. The island of Ostrów Lednicki and its immediate surroundings once belonged to the main centers of the state of the first Piasts. One of the capital’s strongholds was built on it (near Poznań, Gniezno and Giecz), and the palace chapel may have been the site of the baptism of Prince Mieszko I in 966. Scientists studying the area can therefore not be surprised by the numerous material remains discovered here, both immovable (a palace with a baptismal chapel, the remains of houses and road network, extensive embankments, bridges) and movable (small objects related to Christian worship found, among others, near the castle church, household equipment, objects related to the functioning of workshops or farming and breeding). Items of particular interest include the numerous weights used at market places and the associated finds of hoard and coins, which testify to the wealth of the elite who lived here in the past. Bullion deposits discovered up to 2018 have been described in earlier volumes of ‘Lednica Studies’ and other publications. Among the oldest of these are the finding of burnt coins and ornaments, discovered near the rampart in the southern part of the gord (fragments of Islamic coins, Danish coins, German coins, Czech coins and coins of undetermined origin, deposited in the ground in the late 10th or early 11th century); a hoard discovered in the western part of the castle, deposited in the ground after 1064 (Hungarian coins of Geza, Bohemian coins of Bretislaus I, Devensian bishop Bernold, cross denarii of type V-VII), dated to the turn of the 11th/12th century: a hoard from the Gniezno Bridge (6 coin fragments, including two that are most likely imitations of English coins, and a temple ring); a hoard of cross denarii from the settlement (10 pieces, most of which are type VII, representing Polish varieties of cross denarii from the turn of the 11th/12th century). Also of great interest is a collection of loosely discovered coins, among which the most historically valuable are Byzantine follis minted during the joint reign of Basil II and Constantine VIII (976-1025), two denarii of Władysław Herman (1081-1102) and one denarius of Boleslaus IV the Curly (1146-1173). In addition to the above-mentioned early medieval hoards and coins loosely discovered at Ostrów Lednicki, a significant amount of numismatic and jewellry grave furnishings were uncovered at the cemetery in Dziekanowice, which functioned from the turn of 10th/11th centuries to the 13th century. As a result of surface work conducted with metal detectors in 2018-2022, three new early medieval hoards and several so-called loose coins were discovered. Single finds were uncovered in the southern and eastern parts of the study area, while all cluster finds (hoards) were discovered in its central part, on settlements dating to the 9th-13th centuries, near the abutment of the Gniezno Bridge. The most numerous assemblage consisted of 39 fragmentary and fully preserved coins and 2 small fractions of silver scrap (a bar and a tape) weighing a total of 16.93 grams. The described hoard was discovered over a considerable area, in two main clusters located south and north of the parking lot at the Small Open-air Museum. A significant part of it consisted of dirham fragments (15 pieces), including coins of the Sāmānid dynasty, minted in Samarqand, Ziyārids and Iḫšīdids – from 914-976 – and unspecified ones from the late 9th/1st half of the 10th century. For a few small fragments, it was not possible to determine the issuer and mint. The collection of fractions and whole coins minted in the mints of the German Reich was equally numerous. Fragments of two denarii of Henry II minted between 967 and 976 in Regensburg were separated among them. A significant part (5 pieces) were fragments of type I cross denarii. These were small fractions of coins minted in Magdeburg in the years around 975-983. The collection of German denarii is supplemented by copies issued by Otto III at the Cologne mint (1 piece) and by Otto III and Adelaide in Quedlinburg and the Harz region in 983-995 (6 pieces). A fragment of an English denarius of Ethelred II, or rather a Scandinavian imitation of it minted between 997 and 1003(?) was also discovered in the described collection. In the latter case, special attention is drawn to the inverted stamp on the heads, where the right rather than the left profile of the ruler is visible. A fragmentarily preserved coin minted in Greater Poland during the reign of Bolesław the Brave is very important for the described hoard. The issue was an imitation of Otto and Adelaide coins and coins minted in Regensburg and it can be dated to around 1015. This copy is particularly valuable not only because of the dating of the deposit of the hoard into the ground, but also because of the name of the issuer himself, who resided on a nearby island – Ostrów Lednicki. Unspecified (indecipherable) fragments of coins (8 pieces) and a small fragment of a tape and a silver bar are a complement to the hoard. A small hoard of cross denarii recognized as Polish is another cluster find. It consists of 6 coins weighing a total of 4.06 grams. A cluster of these denarii was discovered at the site of one of the early medieval settlements. It was located about 150 m southeast of the ferry crossing to Ostrów Lednicki. The exception was one of the coins, which was discovered about 150 m north of the aforementioned cluster. The collection includes late varieties of cross denarii that can be attributed to Polish mints, in this case those of Kalisz – of Władysław Herman, and probably those of the Gniezno mint – of Archbishop Martin of Gniezno, who probably minted cross denarii in Gniezno with the approval of Prince Zbigniew for the renovation and rebuilding of the local cathedral. Similar coins constitute a significant portion of the assemblages found in Poland, and in recent years. Thanks to the work of Polish numismatists, their local varieties linked to the issue of Władysław Herman, his son Zbigniew and the palatine Sieciech, have been separated. The third hoard is a small collection of Polish coins weighing a total of 2.21 grams discovered in the Small Open-air Museum and adjacent fields, and deposited into the ground around 1143. It includes a type 3a coin of Bolesław III the Wrymouth (1107-1138) and denarii of Władysław the Exile: 1 denarius of type 1 with an image of the prince on the throne and fighting the Lion (dated 1138-1140) and 3 denarii of type 2 depicting the prince and the bishop (dated 1141-mid 1143). The discovered coins were recorded at a considerable distance from each other, so it is uncertain whether they were originally a single assemblage forked during ploughing or whether they are finds of individual coins. Regardless, these denarii are a very valuable collection for Ostrów Lednicki and the surrounding area, testifying to the memory of the place at a time when the stronghold of the first Piasts had already lost its political and cultic significance. Three fragments weighing a total of 1.01 grams were included in the collection of so-called loose coins. They were scattered over a considerable area. The first one was a small fraction of a dirham (about 1/6th of the total) minted during the reign of Naṣr ibn Aḥmad of the Sāmānid dynasty at an unspecified mint in 941/2. Fractions of this ruler’s coins were also observed in the hoard of fragmented coins described above. Another fragment of Bolesław the Brave’s coin, imitating the denarii of Otto and Adelaide and of Regensburg, minted in Greater Poland and dated around 1015 (cf. the first hoards described above) is an extremely valuable find. A fragment of an unspecified fragmented coin that can be dated to the late 10th/early 11th century is the last coin in the collection of loose coins. Thanks to the museum’s research project ‘Razem dla ratowania zabytków’ (‘Together to save the monuments’) implemented since 2018 in the southern and central coastal part of Lednica Lake, and to the people involved, extremely valuable collections have been discovered and developed. In addition to the previously described coins and clasps from the Roman period of influence and the hoards and finds of early medieval coins presented above, a total of several thousand objects have been inventoried, which, after preservation and processing, will greatly enrich the collections of the Museum of the First Piasts at Lednica. In particular, it is worth noting the most recent discoveries of coins of Bolesław the Brave associated with Ostrów Lednicki. To date, only about 20 pieces of similar hybrids with depictions of a shrine and a cross (Polish imitation of the denarii of Otto and Adelaide and Regensburg) have been uncovered. Particular attention should also be paid to the fact that quite a significant number of late cross denarii type VII with a pastorale have been discovered on Ostrów Lednicki and in its immediate vicinity. The large increase in finds of this type of denarii in Wielkopolska hoards and loose finds may attest to the minting activities of Archbishop Martin of Gniezno described above. The newly discovered finds, together with the studies, will certainly significantly enrich the existing knowledge of their users and inhabitants of the immediate vicinity of Ostrów Lednicki, from prehistory to the present day. Articles which describe the findings of the very numerous modern coins minted by the Jagiellons, Vasa, Saxons and Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, as well as the issues from the period of partitions and modern times, are in preparation.

6

The Common People and Material Relics of Antiquity the Afterlife of Ancient Coins in the Territory of Present-Day Poland in the Medieval and Modern Periods

72%

Bogucki M., Dymowski A., Śnieżko G.

Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization

|

2017

|

vol. 21

275-297

EN

Ancient coinage, almost exclusively Roman denarii from the 1st or 2nd century AD, constitutes a small percentage of hoards and other assemblages dated (with the latest coins present) to either the Middle Ages or to the modern period in the territory of present-day Poland. Such finds can be seen as strongly indicating that ancient coinage did function as means of payment at that time. This hypothesis is further supported by written sources. Moreover, ancient coins have also been recorded at other sites in medieval and modern period contexts e.g. in burial sites, which are less easy to interpret than hoards. Finds often include pierced coins and others showing suspension loops, which suggests they may have been used as amulets, jewellery or devotional medals. Other finds, such as Roman coins placed in alms boxes in modern period churches in Silesia, also point to a religious context. At the same time, written sources attest that at least since the Late Middle Ages, Roman denarii were known to common people as ‘St John’s pennies’. The name is associated with a Christian interpretation of the image of the emperor’s head on the coin, resembling that of John the Baptist on a silver platter.

7

On Two Hoards of Small Copper Shilling Coins of King John Casimir Vasa from Rokitno, Lubartów county

72%

Markiewicz T., Markiewicz T.

Wiadomości Numizmatyczne

|

2020

8

Regional Monetary Standards and Medieval Bracteates

72%

Svensson R., Svensson R.

Wiadomości Numizmatyczne

|

2020

9

Skarb monet wczesnośredniowiecznych z Kartuz na Pomorzu

72%

Chabrzyk P.

Acta Archaeologica Lodziensia

|

2015

|

vol. 61

63-66

PL

Obieg pieniężny na ziemiach Polski we wczesnym średniowieczu miał charakter transgraniczny. W okresie panowania pierwszych Piastów moneta rodzima była jedynie dopełnieniem dużej masy srebra monetarnego, które docierało na ziemie Polski z kierunków północnego i zachodniego. Z obu napływała moneta niemiecka. W roku 1951 do zbiorów numizmatycznych Muzeum Archeologicznego i Etnograficznego w Łodzi przekazano zespół monet wczesnośredniowiecznych, będący najprawdopodobniej częścią większego znaleziska, pochodzącego z Kartuz lub niedalekich okolic tej miejscowości. Wskazują na to materiały archiwalne oraz bliskość chronologiczna denarów. Należą one do typu V według klasyfikacji M. Gumowskiego. Na awersach mają krzyż otoczony wieńcem pereł oraz napisy otokowe.

EN

Coin circulation within the territory of the present-day Polish state was characterized in the early middle ages by its transboundary nature. During the reign of the first rulers of the Piast dynasty the indigenous coin production only served as a supplement to the great amount of monetary silver that was reaching our lands from the north and west. German coins flowed in from both of these directions. In 1951 the numismatic collection of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Lodz received a hoard from Kartuzy or nearby, which possibly formed part of a larger find. All of the surviving coins from this hoard are of type V according to the classification of M. Gumowski. Their obverse bears a cross surrounded by pearls, and, in the rim, various letters. Archival research shows that these coins are probably a part of a hoard that did not survive intact down to our times. One cannot be absolutely certain, however, that the deposit came from the vicinity of Kartuzy.

10

Roman coin finds from vicinity of Ostrów Lednicki. Lednica Project “Together to Save the Heritage” (2018-2022)

72%

Balbuza K.

Historia Slavorum Occidentis

|

2021

|

issue 4 (31)

11-29

EN

The article presents finds of Roman coins from the area located in the immediate vicinity of Ostrów Lednicki island, found in the years 2018-2021.

11

Is the So-called the Abritus Horizon Clear in the Finds of Silver Roman Coins from the Mid-Third Century from Poland?

58%

Dymowski A.

Wiadomości Numizmatyczne

|

2021

|

vol. 65

1-13

PL

Na terenach zajmowanych w okresie rzymskim przez kultury archeologiczne czerniachowską i wielbarską, w tym na obszarach wschodniej i północnej Polski, występują stosunkowo liczne znaleziska rzymskich aureusów Decjusza (249–251) i jego bezpośrednich poprzedników na cesarskim tronie. Monety te interpretowane są jako część skarbca cesarskiego zagrabionego przez barbarzyńców (Gotów) po wygranej przez nich bitwie pod Abritus w 251 r. Na tych samych obszarach można wyróżnić horyzont znalezisk srebrnych monet rzymskich, denarów i antoninianów, których co prawda nie da się wprost połączyć z bitwą pod Abritus, ale nieco szerzej, z rajdami gockimi na rzymskie prowincje we wczesnych latach 50. III w., których spektakularną kulminacją była właśnie bitwa pod Abritus. Horyzont ten nie jest czytelny w znaleziskach z Polski południowej, środkowej i zachodniej, zajmowanych w okresie rzymskim przez kultury przeworską i luboszycką, nie wiązane z Gotami.

EN

In the areas occupied by the Cherniakhiv and Wielbark archaeological cultures during the Roman period, including the areas of eastern and northern Poland, there are relatively numerous finds of Roman aurei of Trajan Decius (249–251) and his direct predecessors on the imperial throne. These coins are interpreted as part of the imperial treasury looted by the barbarians (Goths) after they won the Battle of Abritus in 251. In the same areas one can distinguish a horizon of finds of silver Roman coins, denarii and antoniniani, which cannot be directly linked to the Battle of Abritus, but more broadly, with the Goth raids on the Roman provinces in the early 250s, the spectacular culmination of which was the Battle of Abritus. This horizon is not clear in finds from southern, central and western Poland, occupied in the Roman period by the Przeworsk and Luboszyce cultures, not related to the Goths.

12

Depozyty sakiewkowe z Ukrainy z dawnych zbiorów Józefa Choynowskiego, w kolekcji Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie

58%

Romanowski A., Adaszewska I., Krytsuk R.

Wiadomości Numizmatyczne

|

2021

|

vol. 65

215-237

EN

In the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw there are four small sets, originating from the eastern lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They had belonged to the collection of Józef Choynowski and, as a deposit of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, in 1923 became a part of the Museum’s collection. They represent quite a wide time horizon, dated from the beginning of the 16th century to the half of the 17th century. Their compositions are similar to deposits from the same period, and size allow to determine them as content of purses. The older hoards are homogeneous in nature, while the later ones are more varied, including, among others, many counterfeit coins. The circumstances of their deposition are unknown.

PL

W zbiorach Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie znajdują się cztery niewielkie zespoły, pochodzące ze wschodnich ziem dawnej Rzeczpospolitej. Należały one do zbioru Józefa Choynowskiego i jako depozyt Towarzystwa Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych, trafiły w 1923 r. do kolekcji Muzeum. Reprezentują one dość szeroki horyzont czasowy, od początków wieku XVI do połowy XVII. Ich składy są podobne do skarbów z tego okresu, a wielkość pozwala określić je jako zawartość sakiewek. Starsze ze skarbów mają homogeniczny charakter, późniejsze są bardziej zróżnicowane, zawierając m.in. wiele monet fałszywych. Okoliczności ich depozycji nie są znane.

Refine search results

Finds of Illyrian coin hoards from the territories of Greek Illyria. An attempt at reconstructing the circulation of coinage based on the range of particular emissions

Pinpointing Unrest at Palmyra in the Early Islamic Period. The Evidence from Coin Hoards and Written Sources

Niespokojne lata. Pieniądz na pograniczu Królestwa Polskiego i Zakonu Krzyżackiego w latach 1410-1466

Hoards from Hellenistic to Kushan Central Asia: Towards Some Interpretations

Nowe znaleziska skarbów i monet wczesnośredniowiecznych pozyskane w trakcie badań powierzchniowych prowadzonych w pobliżu Ostrowa Lednickiego

The Common People and Material Relics of Antiquity the Afterlife of Ancient Coins in the Territory of Present-Day Poland in the Medieval and Modern Periods

On Two Hoards of Small Copper Shilling Coins of King John Casimir Vasa from Rokitno, Lubartów county

Regional Monetary Standards and Medieval Bracteates

Skarb monet wczesnośredniowiecznych z Kartuz na Pomorzu

Roman coin finds from vicinity of Ostrów Lednicki. Lednica Project “Together to Save the Heritage” (2018-2022)

Is the So-called the Abritus Horizon Clear in the Finds of Silver Roman Coins from the Mid-Third Century from Poland?

Depozyty sakiewkowe z Ukrainy z dawnych zbiorów Józefa Choynowskiego, w kolekcji Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie