Bracteat ( lat. Bractea - tin) - a flat thin coin of gold or silver with coinage on one side.
In Russian-language literature, we most often use it to designate early medieval coins of this kind, made, as a rule, of thin silver , less often of gold . Medieval bratheats appeared around the middle of the XII century and were minted until the middle of the XV century . These coins quickly replaced the denarius from circulation. The exclusive name " brekteat " these coins received only in numismatics since the end of the XVII century [1] . In medieval literature of the XII-XIV centuries, these coins were called " denarius ", " nummi " or " pfennig " [2] .
Another meaning of this term refers to flat and thin gold coins issued during the period of the migration of peoples . As a rule, they had a loop and were used as a neck amulet.
Content
- 1 Bracteat of the period of the migration of peoples
- 2 Bracteates of the early Middle Ages
- 2.1 Appearance
- 2.2 Handling
- 3 notes
- 4 References
Migrant period
Bracteates of this period are jewelry. Made from V to VII century BC. e. and are presented in various variations. As a rule, the bracteate had a hemispherical edging and a loop for wearing on the neck. It is believed that they were used as amulets. Gold for their manufacture came from the Roman Empire as "peaceful money" [3] .
Due to the many diverse topics of minting in 1855 in the treatise Om Guldbracteaterne og Bracteaternes tidligste Brug som Mynt , Danish numismatist Christian Jurgensen Thomsen proposed, and in 1869 in the treatise Från jernåldern the Swedish numismatist Oscar Montelius describes the following classification:
- A-bracteates (approx. 88 samples): with a person’s face, stylized as ancient imperial coins;
- B-bracteates (approx. 91 samples): a human figure in a standing position, sitting and on his knees, often accompanied by an animal;
- C-bracteates (approx. 413 samples): the male head above the four-legged animal is usually identified as One [3] ; (best preserved);
- D-bracteates (approx. 348 samples): with one or more highly stylized animals;
- E-bracteates (approx. 280 samples): with animal triskel under the round part;
- F-bracteates (approx. 17 samples): with fictional animals (as a subgroup of D-bracteates);
- M-'bracteates' (approx. 17 samples): two-sided imitation of Roman imperial medallions.
Early Medieval Bracteates
The beginning of the minting of such coins was laid in Saxony and Thuringia around 1130, and the minting lasted until about 1520. In some cantons of Switzerland, marriage-like rappens , hellers and angoes were minted until the 18th century.
Appearance
Silver, rarely gold, early medieval bratheats were the main type of coin in German-speaking countries. Although some bracteates might be large, up to 40-45 millimeters in diameter [1] [2] , most had a diameter of 15 millimeters and a weight of 1 gram. Coins were minted only on one side, so they turned out convex on the obverse and concave on the reverse. Before the appearance of the bratheats, in the period between the 9th and the beginning of the 12th centuries, there was a transitional form of coins - semi- bracts ( German: Halbbrakteaten ). They were minted on both sides, which, due to the thickness of the coin, led to distortion of the image on both sides.
Bracteates minted in the second half of the XII - the first half of the XIII century, are masterpieces of fine Romanesque plastic.
One of the varieties of bracteates was "bratheats with a horseman" ( German: Reiterbrakteat ). Presumably the first to start minting coins of this type (with a rider in the center) was the Landgrave of Thuringian Ludwig II (1140–1172) [2] . Coins of this type were also minted by the Margrave Landsberg Dietrich I (1156–1185) and the Counts of Mansfeld.
Appeal
The peculiarity of medieval bratheats was that every year (and in Magdeburg twice a year) they devalued by a quarter of the face value in the form of a coinage [2] . Thus, taxation was partially compensated. At the same time, the “stamped fee” was a kind of inflationary mechanism, which did not contribute to the accumulation of capital. Margrit Kennedy in his work “Money without interest and inflation. How to create a medium of exchange that serves everyone ”writes [4] :
| From the 12th to the 15th centuries, money used to be called bratheats in Europe. They were issued by cities, bishoprics, and individual feudal lords. Moreover, they served not only for the exchange of goods and services, but also served as a means of levying taxes. Thin gold or silver money “depreciated” once a year, that is, they were withdrawn from circulation and replaced with newly minted ones. At the same time, they devalued by 25%, this part was withheld as a “coinage charge” or “coinage tax”. |
Such a system served to increase consumption and reduce savings, which, according to M. Kennedy, served to increase the welfare of the population, the development of the economy, and the reduction of political and military confrontations. This circumstance leads her to the conclusion that “ taxes should not be levied together with the fee for treatment, but separately ” [4] . In principle, her point of view is supported by Hans R. L. Korsen in his book “Fragile Money”:
| Since it was impossible to accumulate monetary wealth, real wealth was created in their place. |
Despite this, bratheats are found in treasures, usually within the country where they were minted. One large treasure of bratheats - Khotinsky, dating from 1225-1230, is known on the South Ukrainian lands. It consists of Saxon, Meissen, Thuringian-Hessian bratheats, Czech and Hungarian denarii [1] .
In the end, the bratheats were supplanted by “eternal” or “full” Pfennigs , which did not depreciate [4] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Numismatic Dictionary. 4th edition. - Zvarych V.V. // Lvov, 1980
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Dictionary of Numismatist: Per. with him. / H. Fengler, G. Girow, V. Unger / 2nd ed., Revised. and add. - M .: Radio and communications, 1993
- ↑ 1 2 Poul Kjærum, Rikke Agnete Olsen. Oldtidens Ansigt: Faces of the Past (1990), ISBN 9788774682745
- ↑ 1 2 3 Margrit Kennedy, MONEY WITHOUT INTEREST AND INFLATION.
Links
- Bracteates // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- K.M. Chernyshov. German bratheats XII - beg. XIII centuries as a source for the formation of early European heraldry // Signum. Vol. 5. M., 2010. S. 104-116.
- D.S. Korovkin, K.M. Chernyshov. Images on German bracteats of the XII - beginning of the XIII century. as a source on the history of European armor and weapons // TSE LI. Byzantium in the context of world culture. St. Petersburg, 2010. S. 535-548.
- K.M. Chernyshov. The evolution of overhead images on German bratheats of the XII - beginning of the XIII century. // Herbology. Volume II M., 2012.S. 41-52.
- O. V. Troostyansky, K. M. Chernyshov. Bracteates from the "Land of Darkness". The discovery of North German bratheats in the Perm Territory as part of a coin treasure of the late 12th century. // Numismatic readings of GMM. M., 2013.S. 21-27.
- K.M. Chernyshov. North German bratheats of the XII - beginning of the XIII century as monuments of late Roman art (based on the Hermitage collection) // TSE LXVIII. Hermitage Readings in Memory of V. F. Levinson-Lessing. SPb., 2015, S. 220-233.
- K.M. Chernyshov. The latest data on the structure of the Hermitage part of the Khotyn treasure. // Numismatic readings of GMM. M., 2015, S. 130-136.
- K.M. Chernyshov. The heraldic component of the images on the bratheats of the Khotyn treasure (late XII - early XIII century). // Workshop - Heraldry Auxiliary Historical Discipline, State Hermitage. St. Petersburg, 2015.S. 1-11.
- K.M. Chernyshov. The ways of Ottar and Thorir Dogs. German bratheats of the end of the 12th century from the North Prikamye. // TSE LXXXVII. Materials and studies of the Department of Numismatics. SPb., 2017, S. 157-180.
- K.M. Chernyshov. Predefined bratheats from the "indefinite" part of the Khotyn treasure // Numismatic readings of the State Historical Museum. M., 2017, S. 139-145.