Notae Numismaticae - Zapiski Numizmatyczne (7.2012)

THE DUCAL GRIFFIN IN THE COINAGE OF WEST POMERANIA

five-, nine-, and ten-field armorials). In 1499, Bogislaw X introduced the four-field
escutcheon for the first time, composed of the coats of arms of the particular lands
within the newly unified State. The four-field coat of arms was featured on the bo-
gislaws and guldens of the period.
The early modern coinage, resumed in 1580 after a half-century hiatus, was
marked by diverse gold and silver issues representing the multi-field armorials.
The central mint at Szczecin struck the coinage of Duke John Frederick of Szc-
zecin, Duke Ernst Ludwig of Wolgast, and Duke Bogislaw XIII. In 1580, the mint
issued John Frederick’s ąuarter-thalers, depicting the five-field coat of arms for
the first time, and Ernst Ludwig’s 1/8 thalers with the nine-field coat of arms in
1585. The chronology of the appearance of the multi-field armorials in the coin-
age does not correspond with the evidence found in the written, sphragistic, and
heraldic sources. For instance, the great coat of arms of West Pomerania had first
appeared on the seal of Duke George I in 1530, yet in the coinage of Duke Ernst
Ludwig only as late as 1585. In the early 17th century, the multi-field coats of arms
as represented in the coinage would be complemented by a depiction of the Griffin
holding a sword and the Bibie, symbolic of the defender of West Pomerania and
the Protestant faith in the turmoil of the Thirty Years’ War.
A thorough analysis of the development of the ducal armorial tells us that
the Griffin rampant, crownless, used as the Flouse of Pomerania’s dynastie coat
of arms had formed in the course of the 1230s, although it would finally become
a heraldic fixture in the latter half of the 13th century. Throughout the Middle Ages,
various branches of the much-extended House of Griffins continued to use the
single-field coat of arms with the depiction of the aforementioned Griffin, in vari-
ous tincture configurations. In all probability, the ducal Griffin’s original tincture
was Sabie, in the field Or. This particular tincture was adopted by the senior Wol-
gast branch of the Griffins following the year 1295. The junior Szczecin (Stettin)
adopted the Griffin Gules in the field Argent, perhaps inspired by the armorial
tincture of Brandenburg (the eagle Gules in the field Argent). The first multi-field
coat of arms of the House of Griffins was created after 1464 and represented their
sovereign rule in the face of the House of Hohenzollern (Brandenburg). It was
composed at the behest of Erie II as a manifestation of the unity of West Pomerania
under the rule of the House of Griffins. It was a five-field coat of arms represent-
ing the Griffin of Pomerania (the centre field), along with the Griffin of Sławno
(Schlawe) surmounting the cheąuy (the Eastern part of the Duchy ), Griffin of Szc-
zecin (the Duchy of Szczecin), Griffin of Wolgast (the Western part of the Duchy),
and the cross with four roses (the Giitzkow Land). A genuine heraldic reform was
undertaken by Duke Bogislaw X. As early as 1478, he assumed the coat of arms
of the Principality of Rugen (the half-lion immurated) as a sign of his rights to the