Notae Numismaticae - Zapiski Numizmatyczne (11.2016)

CLIPPED PRAGUE GROSCHEN...

As regards the prevalence, in the finds, of clipped Prague groschen of John
of Luxembourg,50 one morę cause could be mentioned besides G. Kozubovskiy’s
dating of this practice to the 1330s and 1340s: namely, the monetary policy
of John of Luxembourg, who, following his coronation as King of Bohemia in
1310, ordered the withdrawal of the older, good groschen of Wenceslaus II.51
The clipping of groschen was widespread not only in Red Ruthenia. Clipped
pieces are also known from Germany, Moldavia, Romania, and, as we have
noted, Bohemia. Some apparently clipped coins have also been reported from
the former territory of the Kingdom of Poland.52 The fact that these coins have been
found over such a large area may indicate that they were clipped independently to
meet the needs of the local denominations; however, it may also be indicative
of the transnational human ingeniousness in finding ways to make a profit,
an ingeniousness which could be applied to the rulers and the population alike.
* * *
How can one therefore determine the time when the coins53 from the hillfort
of Sanok - Biała Góra got to the ground? The context of the finds does not offer
much information. The two coins were found in the forest humus layer. Much
morę information can be obtained from an analysis of some other discovered
artefacts, still in the initial stage of analysis. The pottery materiał is the most
numerous among the artefacts, with the presence of broken pieces of pot-like ves-
sels prevailing, but some glazed ware is also represented, mostly by fragments
of jugs. The closest analogies to the latter can be found at the pottery settlement
of Zasanie in Przemyśl and on the castle hill in the same city. These artefacts
have been dated recently to the second half of the 13th and to the 14th century.54
Apart from the already mentioned numerous military items,55 three rowel spurs
unearthed at the site of the hillfort are of particular significance. Two of them

50 On this ąuestion, see PINIŃSKI 1985: 157.
51 CASTEL1N 1960: 136-137.
32 KUBIAK 1972: 169. However, taking into account that the expression “apparently clipped” refers to
the groschen of Wenceslaus IV, it cannot be ruled out that the coins were not clipped but struck on coin blanks
of a lesser diameter. Another hoard, where pieces from the same issuer were reported and described as false due
to the lesser size of the coin blanks, was found at Przedecz; cf. BOKOTA 1995: 45, 52.
53 In July 2015, during another research season, yet another medieval coin was recovered (no. ks. poi.
91/82w/2015), namely a penny (denar) of Władysław II Jagiełło of group B, probably type 20 or 20a, according
to S. Kubiak (1970: 95-98, pl. XV: 89-93 and XVI: 94—97). It was found within the limits of are 1N2W, in trench
2A (1.30 m to the north, 0.30 m to the west), in the forest humus layer (depth: 481.30 m a.s.l.), above the rampart
debris. The fact that it does not show traces of secondary fire damage, which was recorded for the accumulated
layers below the place of the artefacEs discovery, would indicate that it was lost on the stronghold site already
after its destruction.
34 AUCH 2009: 160.
55 FEDYK and KOTOWICZ 2006: passim.