DOI Heft:
Artykuły/Articles
DOI Artikel:A Seventeenth-Century Hoard of Coins Found at the Cementery near the Church Dedicated to St. Barbara in the Old Town of Częstochowa
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.57341#0291
A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY HOARD OF COINS...
1615 and 1617. Together, 24 coins of this ruler were identified, which constitutes
25.26% of the entire hoard. Simultaneously, in the deposit under discussion here, this
is the largest number of coins belonging to one issuer. No issues of previous Polish
rulers are included in the hoard, and this includes all of the rulers of the Jagiellonian
dynasty and Stephen Bathory. It is held that the coins of Sigismund III Vasa stopped
circulating in the 1620s (with 1627 being the final year of circulation). Moreover,
an analysis of the deposits shows that during this time the coins of Sigismund III
Vasa enjoyed a clear majority, and Polish coins became the dominant currency in
circulation in the Crown.36
Twenty-five 3 Kreuzer coins from Silesian lands were also deposited in
the hoard. They belonged to the Austrian monetary system, which the Habsburgs
consistently introduced in the lands that they subjugated. These were struck in six
different mints in the second decade of the 17th century, and they constitute 26.31%
of the entire find. Two coins from the Duchy of Liegnitz-Brieg are the oldest coins
in this group; they were struck in 1610 in the Zloty Stok mint. The remaining coins
of this duchy come from the years 1616, 1617, and 1618. The Duchy of Teschen
(Cieszyn) is represented by 3 Kreuzer coins from the Teschen mint; these coins were
issued in 1611. Three coins from the Duchy of Ziębice-Oleśnica were identified;
from 1613, 1614, and 1616, they were struck in the Oleśnica Mint. The Duchy of
Troppau (Opava) is represented by one coin that was struck in Troppau in 1614.
Coins of the Duchy of Kmov (Karniów), from the Kmov mint, were also deposited
in the hoard; these were issued in 1615, 1617, and 1618. The Ecclesiastical Duchy
of Nysa is represented by three coins from the Nysa mint, struck in 1615 and
1617. The Silesian issues recorded in the Częstochowa deposit do not appear in
many hoards dated to the first quarter of the 17th century and found in the lands of
the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.37 No coins of the duchies of Troppau and
Kmov have been recorded in these deposits. In these hoards it is usually single coins
of Silesian issues that appear; thus, they do not constitute a significant addition to
the hoards. The chronology of these deposits also indicates that these coins did not
circulate for very long in the Crown. It should be noted that the large number of
Silesian coins distinguishes the deposit from Częstochowa in comparison to the finds
that have been recorded thus far in the old lands of the Crown.
36 MIKOŁAJCZYK 1980: 29; MARKIEWICZ 2015: 62.
37 MĘCLEWSKA and MIKOŁAJCZYK 1983: 84, no. 268-Szczakowa (after 1609); 93, no. 305-Młynek
(after 1614); 95, no. 315 - Stryków (after 1615); 96, no. 319 - Żarki (after 1616); 97, no. 322 - Malanów (after
1618); 110, no. 378 - Mokra Lewa (after 1622 or 1629); 118, no. 405 - Olędzkie (after 1624); all the coins from
the Częstochowa hoard appeared in the deposit mentioned above from Wilków: 106, no. 370 - Wilków (after
1621); MARKIEWICZ 2015: 63-64 - a hoard from Lublin (after 1625).
1615 and 1617. Together, 24 coins of this ruler were identified, which constitutes
25.26% of the entire hoard. Simultaneously, in the deposit under discussion here, this
is the largest number of coins belonging to one issuer. No issues of previous Polish
rulers are included in the hoard, and this includes all of the rulers of the Jagiellonian
dynasty and Stephen Bathory. It is held that the coins of Sigismund III Vasa stopped
circulating in the 1620s (with 1627 being the final year of circulation). Moreover,
an analysis of the deposits shows that during this time the coins of Sigismund III
Vasa enjoyed a clear majority, and Polish coins became the dominant currency in
circulation in the Crown.36
Twenty-five 3 Kreuzer coins from Silesian lands were also deposited in
the hoard. They belonged to the Austrian monetary system, which the Habsburgs
consistently introduced in the lands that they subjugated. These were struck in six
different mints in the second decade of the 17th century, and they constitute 26.31%
of the entire find. Two coins from the Duchy of Liegnitz-Brieg are the oldest coins
in this group; they were struck in 1610 in the Zloty Stok mint. The remaining coins
of this duchy come from the years 1616, 1617, and 1618. The Duchy of Teschen
(Cieszyn) is represented by 3 Kreuzer coins from the Teschen mint; these coins were
issued in 1611. Three coins from the Duchy of Ziębice-Oleśnica were identified;
from 1613, 1614, and 1616, they were struck in the Oleśnica Mint. The Duchy of
Troppau (Opava) is represented by one coin that was struck in Troppau in 1614.
Coins of the Duchy of Kmov (Karniów), from the Kmov mint, were also deposited
in the hoard; these were issued in 1615, 1617, and 1618. The Ecclesiastical Duchy
of Nysa is represented by three coins from the Nysa mint, struck in 1615 and
1617. The Silesian issues recorded in the Częstochowa deposit do not appear in
many hoards dated to the first quarter of the 17th century and found in the lands of
the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.37 No coins of the duchies of Troppau and
Kmov have been recorded in these deposits. In these hoards it is usually single coins
of Silesian issues that appear; thus, they do not constitute a significant addition to
the hoards. The chronology of these deposits also indicates that these coins did not
circulate for very long in the Crown. It should be noted that the large number of
Silesian coins distinguishes the deposit from Częstochowa in comparison to the finds
that have been recorded thus far in the old lands of the Crown.
36 MIKOŁAJCZYK 1980: 29; MARKIEWICZ 2015: 62.
37 MĘCLEWSKA and MIKOŁAJCZYK 1983: 84, no. 268-Szczakowa (after 1609); 93, no. 305-Młynek
(after 1614); 95, no. 315 - Stryków (after 1615); 96, no. 319 - Żarki (after 1616); 97, no. 322 - Malanów (after
1618); 110, no. 378 - Mokra Lewa (after 1622 or 1629); 118, no. 405 - Olędzkie (after 1624); all the coins from
the Częstochowa hoard appeared in the deposit mentioned above from Wilków: 106, no. 370 - Wilków (after
1621); MARKIEWICZ 2015: 63-64 - a hoard from Lublin (after 1625).