DOI article:
Miazga, Beata; Paszkiewicz, Boris: The metal content of selected Polish and Brandenburg coins from the 14th and 15th centuries
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49247#0144
BEATA MIAZGA, BORYS PASZKIEWICZ
140
coins inscribed with Casimir the Great’s name are - as we shall see - disputable as
to the time and place of their origin. Our method of examination only allowed us to
inspect the interior of the coins that were damaged; the remaining coins were only
examined from the outside. Even though coins of this period were often enriched
with a surface-layer of silver, we can still regard the data gathered as being of interest
and of considerable use for further research.
An X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used to make an elemental analysis
of the coins. This nondestructive and non-invasive method of investigation is often
used to research ancient artefacts, including coins. The coins were analyzed with
a Spectro Midex table spectrometer of an excitation energy of 46 kV. This device is
equipped with a molybdenum X-ray lamp and a Peltier-cooled SDD detector. The
spectrometer performs point analyses thanks to a radiation beam with a diameter
of 0.7 mm. The coins chosen for investigation were divided into two groups. The
undamaged coins were only examined on the surface, with at least seven individual
small-spot measurements being taken. The attained results indicating the metal
contents were then averaged. With regard to the coins with defects, it was their side
edges that were examined but only after they were prepared by polishing the parts
that were damaged (here, six or seven small-spot measurements were taken, and
then, again, an average was taken of the results). The surface of each of these coins
was also examined by performing two small-spot measurements.
HOHLPFENNIGS OF THE 14™ CENTURY
Examination was made of two hohlpfennigs (nos. 1-2) of which no close
analogy exists in the literature; thus, it may be that these coins come from issues
of which we have no knowledge so far. Both are probably from Greater Poland,
from the first half of the 14th century. The first of these coins, with a bull’s head, is
similar to a coin found in a hoard (containing 27 such coins, and thus, a relatively
large number) from Wieleń.3 Although the Wieleń coins were larger, their silver
fineness was similar: the coins in the Wieleń hoard (examined using a touchstone)
were 10 lots, i.e. 625/1000, and the coin under discussion is 593/1000 and 613/1000
(the similar levels of fineness of the coin’s interior4 and of its surface, respectively,
indicate that blanching was not used on this coin). The motif of a bull’s head,
which in the age of Casimir the Great appeared on the arms of Greater Poland (but
later only on that of Kalisz Voivodeship), was seen on the bracteates which are no
3 BEYER 1876: no. 165.
4 What is meant by the surface of the coin is the coin’s area on its side edge, which is polishing carefully in
order to prepare it for examination. What we expect to see here is a reflection of the composition of the original
mint alloy.
140
coins inscribed with Casimir the Great’s name are - as we shall see - disputable as
to the time and place of their origin. Our method of examination only allowed us to
inspect the interior of the coins that were damaged; the remaining coins were only
examined from the outside. Even though coins of this period were often enriched
with a surface-layer of silver, we can still regard the data gathered as being of interest
and of considerable use for further research.
An X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used to make an elemental analysis
of the coins. This nondestructive and non-invasive method of investigation is often
used to research ancient artefacts, including coins. The coins were analyzed with
a Spectro Midex table spectrometer of an excitation energy of 46 kV. This device is
equipped with a molybdenum X-ray lamp and a Peltier-cooled SDD detector. The
spectrometer performs point analyses thanks to a radiation beam with a diameter
of 0.7 mm. The coins chosen for investigation were divided into two groups. The
undamaged coins were only examined on the surface, with at least seven individual
small-spot measurements being taken. The attained results indicating the metal
contents were then averaged. With regard to the coins with defects, it was their side
edges that were examined but only after they were prepared by polishing the parts
that were damaged (here, six or seven small-spot measurements were taken, and
then, again, an average was taken of the results). The surface of each of these coins
was also examined by performing two small-spot measurements.
HOHLPFENNIGS OF THE 14™ CENTURY
Examination was made of two hohlpfennigs (nos. 1-2) of which no close
analogy exists in the literature; thus, it may be that these coins come from issues
of which we have no knowledge so far. Both are probably from Greater Poland,
from the first half of the 14th century. The first of these coins, with a bull’s head, is
similar to a coin found in a hoard (containing 27 such coins, and thus, a relatively
large number) from Wieleń.3 Although the Wieleń coins were larger, their silver
fineness was similar: the coins in the Wieleń hoard (examined using a touchstone)
were 10 lots, i.e. 625/1000, and the coin under discussion is 593/1000 and 613/1000
(the similar levels of fineness of the coin’s interior4 and of its surface, respectively,
indicate that blanching was not used on this coin). The motif of a bull’s head,
which in the age of Casimir the Great appeared on the arms of Greater Poland (but
later only on that of Kalisz Voivodeship), was seen on the bracteates which are no
3 BEYER 1876: no. 165.
4 What is meant by the surface of the coin is the coin’s area on its side edge, which is polishing carefully in
order to prepare it for examination. What we expect to see here is a reflection of the composition of the original
mint alloy.