Coinage of Saxony
The history of Saxon coinage or Meissen-Saxon coinage comprises three major periods: the high medieval regional pfennig period, the late medieval pfennig period and the thaler period, which ended with the introduction of the mark in 1871/72. Rich silver deposits, which were discovered near Freiberg after the middle of the 12th century, helped Saxony to a leading position in German coinage.
The Saxon pfennigs minted in eastern Saxony are also included, as described in Walther Haupt's Sächsischer Münzkunde. They were minted on the basis of the Carolingian monetary reform, on which the oldest Meissen coinage is based. The different names of these pfennig types indicate a still unclear position within medieval numismatics.
''Hochrandpfennig'' (''Sachsenpfennig'')
The 10th and 11th century pfennig type known as the Saxon pfennig with a raised edge is the most common pfennig type of this time, along with the Otto Adelheid pfennig. Saxon pfennigs are the oldest coins minted in Saxony. The pfennigs of the Saxon imperial period with the inscription OTTO or ODDO in the portal of a church were presumably minted under Emperor Otto I or soon afterwards in Magdeburg and belong to the oldest group of Saxon high-rimmed pfennigs.The Margraves of Meissen continued to mint as ministeriales on behalf of the Roman-German Empire. Margrave Eckard I of Meissen had pfennigs minted in the imperial mint at Meissen. The denarius with the inscriptions EKKINHARD and MISSNI is the oldest known Meissen coin.
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Decline of pfennig coinage
The conversion of Charlemagne's pound into a monetary pound during the reign of the Frankish Emperor, Henry IV, resulted in the obsolescence of pfennigs minted on both sides. The pound weight of 367 grammes was converted into a monetary pound of 240 pfennigs, the weight of which decreased continuously. The lighter pfennigs became larger in diameter. The sheet metal used for minting eventually became so thin that it could no longer be struck with lower and upper punches simultaneously in one operation. When embossing the so-called 'thin pfennigs', the blank had to be turned in order to emboss the opposite side. The stamp pressure on one side damaged the coin image on the other side. In order to achieve a good coin image, it made sense to dispense with the second punch and also to save the second work step.This phenomenon probably led to the minting of bracteates beginning around 1140 under Margrave Conrad the Great.
''Bracteate'' period
The name 'bracteate' first appeared at the end of the 17th century and is derived from the Latin word bractea. At first it only occurs in the term nummus bracteatus, "tin coin". Perhaps the German expression blechen instead of bezahlen goes back to the days of tin money. Old documents, on the other hand, speak of Pfennige or Pfund Pfennige, in Latin, denarius or talentum denariorum.The largest quantity of Meissen bracteates were minted between 1170 and 1300 by the first Meissen mint, the Freiberg Mint. From the 13th century it was the main state mint for the House of Wettin. In addition to pfennigs, halflings and quarters were also issued. Large payments were made in silver ingots.
The bracteates from all Meissen and Upper Lusatian mints were struck according to a uniform embossing style and monetary standard. The master minter at Freiberg was instructed not to strike more than 244 or 246 pfennigs from the silver mark of 253 grammes. That corresponds to an average weight of a pfennig of a good 1 gramme. However, the highest average weight of Puschwitz bracteate finds from the early mintings around 1140 is only 0.811 grammes. At the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century, the average weight was 0.573 grammes.
The testing of the weight was checked al marco. In medieval coinage, this was checking the total weight of a certain number of coins instead of checking the weight of an individual piece. Given the uneven weight of individual pfennigs, it was obvious to bring the overweight ones down to the average weight simply with scissors by cutting off the edge. The clipping of pfennigs by money changers or private individuals for the purpose of illegally procuring precious metals was a capital offence for which the penalty was cutting off the right hand.
The pfennigs were only valid in their area of origin. The bracteate period is therefore also referred to as the period of the regional pfennig. Anyone who came from another currency area to trade had to exchange the currency they had brought with them for local coinage. The bill of exchange was part of the income of the mintmasters.
The cost of minting coins had to be covered by an annual fee-based exchange of the pfennigs: twelve old ones for nine or ten new ones. In Freiberg's city law it was determined that only the mint master or judge himself was allowed to devalue expired pfennigs. The fragile pfennigs were carried in tin cans.
''Bracteate'' mints in Saxony
The following mints in Saxony produced bracteate coins:Numerous independent dynasties in the Wettin region were given the imperial regale of minting rights. These included:
The increasing power of the Meissen margraves in the 14th century led, with a few exceptions, to the end of minting by imperial ministeriales.
Episcopal bracteates
The Bishops of Naumburg exercised their right to mint coins in Strehla on the Elbe in conjunction with the Margrave of Meissen.The Bishops of Meissen were also the lords of miners and mints and had bracteates issued. At the end of the 12th century, mines were driven into the Scharfenberg on the Elbe. Later, the two episcopal castles, Wurzen and Stolpen became potential places for minting. The last episcopal bracteates were minted towards the end of the 13th century.
As an abbey authorized to issue coins, Pegau Abbey in Pegau also minted bracteates. These have a large crutch cross and usually an inscription of the name as an unmistakable mark. Because of their consistent and high quality silver, they were popular and even re-stamped. Restrikes are known for the Burgraves of Meissen, the Vogts of Pegau Abbey, Margrave Theodoric, the Count of Brehna and Archbishops of Magdeburg.
Chronology of the Meissen bracteates (Margraviate of Meissen)
The chronology of the Meissen bracteates is difficult. Except in the early days, the names of the mint lords are only exceptionally found on the pfennigs. A rough classification was made by Haupt:| Period | Dimension/feature | remark |
| Around 1140/1150 | Diameter up to 37 mm, flat stamping | The oldest bracteates were stamped with forged steel dies. The die cuts are testimonies to Romanesque portable art. The coin image extends to the edge. |
| Post 1150 to late 12th century | Gradual reduction in diameter down to 20 mm | The coin weight hardly decreased. The bracteates had become thicker and therefore more break- and pressure-resistant. A wide and high beaded ring enclosing the coin design increased its flexural strength. |
| Around 1200 to about 1250 | Diameter up to 42 mm, larger profiling | The coin die made of cast bronze saved the need for die cutting. The casting technique required greater profiling and larger diameters. As before, the bracteates have a stiffening ring, an "enthroned prince" became a typical coin image. |
| About 1250 to 1300 | "Gritty" surface, large diameters | Bracteates became mass-produced due to the high silver yield from the mines. The slightly rough surface of the cast bronze stamp was no longer smoothed. |
| around 1300 | Bulging almost to the shape of a hat | Several planchets laid on top of each other were formed in one minting process. The coin image merges into the edge. |
For the export trade, the regional pfennig with its limited scope and obligation to exchange it every year was a major obstacle. A unified currency across larger areas was required. Higher denominations were needed, not just pfennigs.
The regional pfennig period ended under Margrave Frederick II.
Groschen period
After the replacement of the pfennig by the broad groschen introduced by Margrave Frederick II in 1338/39, the late medieval groschen period began. In Haupt's Sächsischer Münzkunde, the word Groschen is a popular term for the Latin grossus, which roughly means "fat". For larger amounts of money, the Schock, worth 60 small Schockgroschen or 20 new groschen, and the mark, worth 48 Schockgroschen were minted.The new groschen was issued by the Freiberg mint based on the Prague groschen which had been minted in Bohemia since 1300. When changing over the currency in the Margraviate of Meissen, as in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Italian financial advisors were consulted.
The currency changeover to the new, lighter Rhenish Gulden as the basis for Meissen's groschen coinage took place in stages from 1368 to 1369. In addition to groschen, pfennigs and hellers were minted. The groschen was worth 9 or 12 pfennigs, the pfennig, 2 hellers. Alongside the Prague groschen, the Meissen groschen became the leading monetary unit of Central Europe.
At the end of the 14th and 15th centuries, the House of Wettin established, in addition to their main mint in Freiberg, other mints in Sangerhausen, Zwickau, Gotha, Leipzig, Weimar, Colditz, Wittenberg and Langensalza, some of which were only temporarily in operation. The Freiberg Mint remained the primary state mint until it was eventually closed.
The Colditz Mint was owned by the Electress Margaret, wife of Elector Friedrich II. An extraordinary event in the history of coins in Saxony is that the Elector paid his wife as compensation for the high life estate in 1456 set up a mint in Colditz and allowed her to mint her own coins there. The so-called Margarethengroschen with an additional "M" in the inscription testify to these coins.
As a result of the high spending policy of Margrave William I the One-Eyed, the country and its population were heavily burdened.
Foreign towns countered the increasing debasement of coins with countermarks of Meissen groschen that were still in good condition. It was not until 1412 that Frederick the Quarrelsome succeeded in stabilizing the pfennig currency on the basis of 20 Schildgroschen to a Rhenish gulden.
Saxony had to recognize the Rhenish gold gulden in order to support long-distance trade. From 1456 it was at last minted in the large commercial metropolis of Leipzig.
The discovery of new, rich silver deposits in the upper Ore Mountains at Schneeberg and Annaberg led to another mining period in Saxony in the second half of the 15th century. The newly established mine mints at Schneeberg, Zwickau, Annaberg and Buchholz had to cover the state's increasing financial obligations by minting a huge number of coins.
The almost identical coin mandates of the Ernestine and Albertines from May 1500, in which the planned transition to the large silver currency on 4 July with new silver gulden
With the announcement that there were now 7 Schreckenbergers or 21 Zinsgroschen to a full Rhenish gold gulden, the Meissen-Saxon groschen was superseded after 262 years.
The Meissen gulden, used as a coin of account up to the 19th century, goes back to the Saxon coinage regulations of 9 August 1490, according to which the gold gulden in Saxony was set at a value of 21 groschen.