DOI issue:
Artikuły / Articles
DOI article:Kotowicz, Piotr N.; Śnieżko, Grzegorz: Clipped Prague groschen of John of Luxembourg (John of Bohemia) from the Medieval hillfort in Sanok - Biała Góra
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41338#0230
PIOTR N. KOTOWICZ, GRZEGORZ ŚNIEŻKO
The seąuence of the marks between the words on this piece indicates that it
may belong to group V, yariant 28, in accordance with K. Castelin’s classification.17
For such coins, this scholar points to the years 1327-1340 as the dates of issue.
It should be noted that the clipping of the coin’s edge could have resulted in
its being wrongly attributed to this group. Nevertheless, the coin’s attribution
to the middle period (approximately) of John of Luxembourg’s reign is also
attested to after consideration of the classification criteria proposed by J. Hana.
The crown from the groschen found at Biała Góra represents type II, as indicated
primarily by the pearls along its ring. It is morę difficult to clearly identify the image
on the reverse due to the obliteration of the lion’s head and the hind legs.
Nonetheless, it could likely be classified as type II.18
In the context of the present article, it is worth mentioning the two Prague
groschen found at the nearby “Horodyszcze” stronghold, near the village
of Trepcza (Fig. 5). Like the coins recovered from the site of Sanok - Biała Góra,
they represent issues of John of Luxembourg. Both are also clipped around in
a degree similar to the pieces under consideration. The coin from the years
1311-1327 has a diameter of 24.3 mm and a weight of 2.44 g. The datę of issue
of the other groschen, clipped to a diameter of 23.8 mm and weighing 2.48 g, could
not be determined precisely, but it is said to have been minted between the years
1311 and 1340.19 Using the relative chronology by J. Hana, it may be inferred that
the crown and lion of this coin represent types I on each of the coin’s sides.20 For
this reason, relating this coin to the early issues of John of Luxembourg would
seem to be justified. As concerns the coins from Sanok - Biała Góra, the groschen
of Trepcza bear a much higher conformity to the metric data. However, it should
be remembered that the weight of the coin in Fig. 3 is reduced not only because
it has been clipped to a greater degree, but also due to its bad State of preservation
and the chippings along the edge. In better condition, the second piece from Sanok
- Biała Góra (Fig. 4) weighs morę than the groschen from Trepcza. Interestingły,
at the moment when the coins in ąuestion appeared on the “Horodyszcze”
hill near Trepcza, the fortified settlement centre located there, identified with
early-medieval Sanok and mentioned three times in the Hypatian Chronicie,
was no longer in existence, as it had been destroyed during one of the Mongoł
raids in the 13th century. According to Jerzy Ginalski, after that dramatic event,
however, a smali wooden chapel was erected on the remains of the stronghold,
17 CASTELIN 1960: 151.
18 HANA 2007: 112-113.
19 PASZKIEWICZ 1995: 159-160.
20 HANA 2007: 112-113.
The seąuence of the marks between the words on this piece indicates that it
may belong to group V, yariant 28, in accordance with K. Castelin’s classification.17
For such coins, this scholar points to the years 1327-1340 as the dates of issue.
It should be noted that the clipping of the coin’s edge could have resulted in
its being wrongly attributed to this group. Nevertheless, the coin’s attribution
to the middle period (approximately) of John of Luxembourg’s reign is also
attested to after consideration of the classification criteria proposed by J. Hana.
The crown from the groschen found at Biała Góra represents type II, as indicated
primarily by the pearls along its ring. It is morę difficult to clearly identify the image
on the reverse due to the obliteration of the lion’s head and the hind legs.
Nonetheless, it could likely be classified as type II.18
In the context of the present article, it is worth mentioning the two Prague
groschen found at the nearby “Horodyszcze” stronghold, near the village
of Trepcza (Fig. 5). Like the coins recovered from the site of Sanok - Biała Góra,
they represent issues of John of Luxembourg. Both are also clipped around in
a degree similar to the pieces under consideration. The coin from the years
1311-1327 has a diameter of 24.3 mm and a weight of 2.44 g. The datę of issue
of the other groschen, clipped to a diameter of 23.8 mm and weighing 2.48 g, could
not be determined precisely, but it is said to have been minted between the years
1311 and 1340.19 Using the relative chronology by J. Hana, it may be inferred that
the crown and lion of this coin represent types I on each of the coin’s sides.20 For
this reason, relating this coin to the early issues of John of Luxembourg would
seem to be justified. As concerns the coins from Sanok - Biała Góra, the groschen
of Trepcza bear a much higher conformity to the metric data. However, it should
be remembered that the weight of the coin in Fig. 3 is reduced not only because
it has been clipped to a greater degree, but also due to its bad State of preservation
and the chippings along the edge. In better condition, the second piece from Sanok
- Biała Góra (Fig. 4) weighs morę than the groschen from Trepcza. Interestingły,
at the moment when the coins in ąuestion appeared on the “Horodyszcze”
hill near Trepcza, the fortified settlement centre located there, identified with
early-medieval Sanok and mentioned three times in the Hypatian Chronicie,
was no longer in existence, as it had been destroyed during one of the Mongoł
raids in the 13th century. According to Jerzy Ginalski, after that dramatic event,
however, a smali wooden chapel was erected on the remains of the stronghold,
17 CASTELIN 1960: 151.
18 HANA 2007: 112-113.
19 PASZKIEWICZ 1995: 159-160.
20 HANA 2007: 112-113.