DOI issue:
Artykuły
DOI article:Ciołek, Renata: Początki zainteresowań znaleziskami monet antycznych w Prusach Królewskich i Książęcych
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22229#0141
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE INTEREST IN THE FINDS OF ANCIENT COINS...
SUMMARY
The Beginnings of the Interest in the Finds of Ancient Coins
in Royal Prussia and Ducal Prussia
In the research on finds of ancient coinage, known from the older literaturę on
the subject, it is indispensable to take into consideration the specific character of
particular regions, resulting from their political situation and cultural traditions.
Royal Prussia and the Duchy of Prussia (Ducal Prussia) are exactly such distinctive
regions. Ancient coins had been found there for a very long time. Many of those
finds are not reflected in any records or documentation. It is only sińce a certain spe-
cific period in history that any relevant mentions had begun to appear in literaturę.
We can now only refer to and interpret them by means of the methods of critical
source analysis elaborated by scholars involved in ancient and medieval studies.
In Prussia, the interest in the finds of Roman coins started in a relatively late
period. The first work where we can encounter sonie information on the coins dis-
covered in that area was the so-called “school syllabus” published by Georg Wendi-
us (1635-1705) in 1698, entitled Impp Romanorum nummos in memoriam victoriae
De Sarmatis olim reportatae cusos, where the author had attempted to analyze four
types of coins that were to be minted in commemoration of the Roman victories
over Sarmatians. A rapid surge of the interest in the ancient coins being found in
Prussia had not really taken place until the publication of M. Matthaus Praeto-
rius’ (1635-1704 or 1709) article entitled Bericht von der Miintze in Preussen ex
MSCto. Praetorius presumed that the local population had madę use of the Roman
coins prior to their own coinage being issued. In his very valuable study De numis
Romanis in agro Prussico repertis, Teofil Zygfryd Bayer (the title of the German
edition: Von denen in Preussen gefundenen Rómischen Miinzeń) notes that there are
definitely morę Roman coins of the Antoninian dynasty being found in Prussia and
Poland than those issued by other Roman emperors. He links the phenomenon of
an increased number of the coins of the Antoninian dynasty with the Marcoman-
nic Wars. Bayer also notes some noteworthy finds from the territory of Prussia and
mentions several individuals keenly interested in either gathering information on
discoveries of ancient coins or collecting numismatic objects. He was the first one
to have noticed that the importation of Roman coins into Barbarian possession may
not have been motivated by economic reasons. Thus, he explains the presence of
Commodus’ coinage in the Barbaricum with the then existing political situation,
SUMMARY
The Beginnings of the Interest in the Finds of Ancient Coins
in Royal Prussia and Ducal Prussia
In the research on finds of ancient coinage, known from the older literaturę on
the subject, it is indispensable to take into consideration the specific character of
particular regions, resulting from their political situation and cultural traditions.
Royal Prussia and the Duchy of Prussia (Ducal Prussia) are exactly such distinctive
regions. Ancient coins had been found there for a very long time. Many of those
finds are not reflected in any records or documentation. It is only sińce a certain spe-
cific period in history that any relevant mentions had begun to appear in literaturę.
We can now only refer to and interpret them by means of the methods of critical
source analysis elaborated by scholars involved in ancient and medieval studies.
In Prussia, the interest in the finds of Roman coins started in a relatively late
period. The first work where we can encounter sonie information on the coins dis-
covered in that area was the so-called “school syllabus” published by Georg Wendi-
us (1635-1705) in 1698, entitled Impp Romanorum nummos in memoriam victoriae
De Sarmatis olim reportatae cusos, where the author had attempted to analyze four
types of coins that were to be minted in commemoration of the Roman victories
over Sarmatians. A rapid surge of the interest in the ancient coins being found in
Prussia had not really taken place until the publication of M. Matthaus Praeto-
rius’ (1635-1704 or 1709) article entitled Bericht von der Miintze in Preussen ex
MSCto. Praetorius presumed that the local population had madę use of the Roman
coins prior to their own coinage being issued. In his very valuable study De numis
Romanis in agro Prussico repertis, Teofil Zygfryd Bayer (the title of the German
edition: Von denen in Preussen gefundenen Rómischen Miinzeń) notes that there are
definitely morę Roman coins of the Antoninian dynasty being found in Prussia and
Poland than those issued by other Roman emperors. He links the phenomenon of
an increased number of the coins of the Antoninian dynasty with the Marcoman-
nic Wars. Bayer also notes some noteworthy finds from the territory of Prussia and
mentions several individuals keenly interested in either gathering information on
discoveries of ancient coins or collecting numismatic objects. He was the first one
to have noticed that the importation of Roman coins into Barbarian possession may
not have been motivated by economic reasons. Thus, he explains the presence of
Commodus’ coinage in the Barbaricum with the then existing political situation,