Banovac, banski denar or banica is a coin struck and used in the Kingdom of Croatia between 1235 and 1384, replacing the Croatian frizatik (which was also minted by

Duke of Slavonia The Duke of Slavonia (; ), also meaning the Duke of Dalmatia and Croatia (; ) was a title of Nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary, nobility granted several times in the 12th and 14th centuries, mainly to relatives of King of Hungary, Hungarian monarch ...

). The Latin name was derived from the words '' ban'' ("viceroy") and ''

denarius The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Ancient Rome, Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It cont ...

''. The coins were first minted in

Pakrac Pakrac is a town in western Slavonia, Croatia, population 4,842, total municipality population 8,460 (census 2011). Pakrac is located on the road and railroad connecting the regions of Posavina and Podravina. Name In Croatian the town is known ...

, and from 1260 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. They were well made, of quality silver, because of which became common exchange currency in Central Europe. There exist some 400 types and sub-types of banovac. Banovac included on

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

the image of a

marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

() between two six-pointed stars (inspired by moving

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

from frizatiks and duke's CoA), because marten pelts were highly valued goods used as a form of payment in

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

( marturina). This was one of the reasons for naming the former currency of the

Republic of Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mont ...

the kuna (used 1994–2023). On the reverse included image of Patriarchal cross#Hungary, in upper part

crescent and star (symbol) The conjoined representation of a star and a crescent is used in various historical contexts, including as a prominent symbol of the Ottoman Empire, and in contemporary times, as a national symbol by some countries, and by some Muslims as a symb ...

, and lower part two crowned heads facing each other. The legends are: * MONETA REGIS P SCLAVONIA (common) * MONETA B REGIS P SCLAVONIA (moneta Belae regis pro sclavonia, scarce) * MONETA DVCIS P SCLAVONIA (scarce) * MONETA REGIS P VNGARIA (rare) Initials on the Árpád Dynasty coins are: * King Bela IV (1235–1270): ** o - o, ** lily - lily, ** bird - bird, ** h - R (Ban Henricus Nemetujvari, 1267–1270) * King

Stephen V Stephen V may refer to: *Pope Stephen IV, aka Stephen V, Pope from 816 to 817 *Pope Stephen V (885–891) *Stephen V of Hungary (born before 1239 – 1272), King of Hungary and Croatia, Duke of Styria *Stephen V Báthory (1430–1493), Hungarian co ...

(1270–1272) ** S - R (Stephanus Rex), ** R - S (Rex Stephanus) * King Ladislaus IV (1272–1290) ** R - L (Rex Ladislaus), ** L - R (Ladislaus Rex), ** S - L (Ban Stephanus Babonich - Rex Ladislaus, 1280-1282?), ** R - R - L (Ban Radoszlav - Rex Ladislaus, 1286–1288) * King Andrew III (1290–1301) ** R - A (Rex Andreas), ** A - R (Andreas Rex), ** S - A (Ban Stephanus Babonich - Rex Andreas, 1300–1301), ** R - bird (Rex Andreas - Ban Stephanus Babonich, 1300–1301), ** A - bird (Rex Andreas - Ban Stephanus Babonich, 1300–1301)

References

External links

* http://www.hr/croatia/economy/money/history * https://web.archive.org/web/20061022035043/http://www.hnb.hr/novcan/povijest/h-nastavak-3.htm {{in lang, hr 13th century in Croatia Coins Medieval currencies 14th century in Croatia

See also

References

External links