Mintmaster marks (German: ''Münzmeisterzeichen'', abbreviation ''Mmz.'') are often the initials of the mintmaster of a

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

or small symbols (cross, star, coat of arms, heraldic device, etc.) for example at the size of the letters on a coin inscription to denote the

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

s made under his direction. With his mark, the mintmaster assumed responsibility for ensuing the coins issued by his mint were in accordance with the regulations. Mintmaster marks were used as early as the time of

bracteate A bracteate (from the Latin ''bractea'', a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold medal worn as jewelry that was produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age (including the Ven ...

coinage in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, but these can only rarely be deciphered. All mintmaster marks since the beginning of the minting of ''

Thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

s'' have been identified. The picture on the right shows the mintmaster's mark, an acorn on a stem, of the

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

mintmaster, Constantin Rothe, on a ''

Reichstaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...

'' issued under Duke

John George II of Saxony Johann George II (31 May 1613 – 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin. Biography He was the third but eldest surviving son of John George I, Elector of Saxony an ...

from the year 1662.

Variants

Sometimes there are pictographs and letters on a coin. In this case, the pictorial symbol is usually found in the circumscription of the coin and the letters are divided in the field on both sides of the coin's crest. Mintmasters often used their coats of arms as mintmaster symbols. For example in the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

: * ''Constantin Rothe'', mintmaster from 1640 to 1678 in

, put the letters C-R on his coins and also the acorn on a stem from his family coat of arms. * ''Andreas Alnpeck'', the last mintmaster of the Freiberg Mint, used a six-pointed star from 1546 to 1555 and from 1554 to 1555 also the eagle's head from his coat of arms as the mintmaster's mark. * ''Ernst Peter Hecht'', mintmaster 1693–1714 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, used the letters E P H as the mintmaster's mark and also the pike from his coat of arms. In Brandenburg: * ''Paul Mühlrad'', mintmaster 1538-1542 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

put a mill wheel on his coinage. In Mecklenburg: * ''Johann Hund'' (1512–1526) used a dog as his

canting arms Canting arms are heraldry, heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. The expression derives from the latin ''cantare'' (to sing). French heralds used the term (), ...

and subsidiary image in the corners of the cross on the Rostock ''

schilling Schilling may refer to: * Schilling (unit), an historical unit of measurement * Schilling (coin), the historical European coin ** Shilling, currency historically used in Europe and currently used in the East African Community ** Austrian schilling ...

s''. In Florence: * Alongside the marks of issue, mintmasters also set their coats of arms on Florentine gold coins.

Introduction and demise of mintmaster marks

Mintmaster marks appear from the late Middle Ages. They were largely superseded in the second half of the 19th century by

mint mark A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It is distinct from a mintmaster mark, the mark of the mintmaster. History Mint marks were first developed to locate a problem. If a co ...

s in the form of a letter to designate the

. France (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Mint) first replaced mintmaster marks with mint marks to designate the mint as early as the 16th century. The Berlin Mint has used the A mint mark since the middle of the 18th century.

Mintmaster mark, mint mark, signature

Occasionally, the signature of the coin engraver or just the artist's signature is also found on coins. For example, on the ''Speciesthaler'' of 1763 is the Mmz. I F ô F of the mintmaster, Johann Friedrich ô Feral of the Leipzig Mint, and on the arm section the Signum S of medallist Johann Friedrich Stieler. The mintmaster mark should therefore not be confused with the coin signature (''Signum''). There is also a risk of confusion with mint marks used to designate the mint if the mintmaster mark consists of only one letter. It is also possible for the mintmaster's mark and artist's signature of the

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

or die cutter to be identical on a coin. For example, in the case of Palatinate coins with the mark "A S". This is the artist's signature and at the same time the mintmaster's mark of the Palatinate court medallist, coin die cutter and mint master, Anton Schäffer. As an example, see the illustration of the '' Flussgoldducat'' by Karl Theodor von der Pfalz from the year 1763. A special feature is the use of a banker's mark as a mintmaster mark on a

Giulio Giulio () is an Italian given name. It is also used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name A–K * Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), Italian cardinal and statesman * Giulio Alenio (1582–1649), Italian Jesuit missionary and s ...

of the Papal States of Pope

Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

On the reverse side between the two saints St. Peter and St. Paul is the trident-shaped

banker's mark A banker's mark (or bankers' mark) is a symbol or letter stamped or scratched into many republican and early imperial Roman coin Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting pri ...

of the

Fugger family The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patrician (post-Roman Europe), patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile ban ...

from Augsburg, who had financed Julius II's papal election with loans. The trident on the Giulio testifies to the Fugger's lending for the papal election. It was not uncommon for coins to be minted without dates and without the minting authority or the even country being specified. Known mintmaster marks can allow identification of undated coins of unknown origin.

References

Literature

* Heinz Fengler, Gerd Gierow, Willy Unger: ''transpress Lexikon Numismatik'', Berlin 1976 * Paul Arnold, Harald Küthmann, Dirk Steinhilber: ''Großer Deutscher Münzkatalog von 1800 bis heute'', Augsburg 2010 * Julius Erbstein, Albert Erbstein: ''Erörterungen auf dem Gebiete der sächsischen Münz- und Medaillen-Geschichte bei Verzeichnung der Hofrath Engelhardt’schen Sammlung'', Dresden 1888 * Walther Haupt: ''Sächsische Münzkunde.'' Berlin 1974 * Lienhard Buck: ''Die Münzen des Kurfürstentums Sachsen 1763 bis 1806'', Berlin 1981 * Wolfgang Steguweit: ''Geschichte der Münzstätte Gotha'', Weimar 1987 * Gerhard Krug: ''Die meißnisch sächsischen Groschen 1338–1500'', Berlin 1974 * N. Douglas Nicol: ''Standard Catalog of German Coins 1601 to Present'', 1995 * L. Krause, Clifford Mishler: ''1991 standard catalog of WORLD COINS 1801–1990''
Friedrich von Schrötter, N. Bauer, K. Regling, A. Suhle, R. Vasmer, J. Wilcke: ''Wörterbuch der Münzkunde'', Berlin 1970 (reprint of original 1930 edn.)

Lotar Koppe: ''Die sächsisch-ernestinischen Münzen 1551 bis 1573'', Regenstauf 2004

External links