The Prague groschen ( cz, pražský groš, la, grossi pragenses, german: Prager Groschen, pl, grosz praski) was a groschen-type silver coin that was issued by Wenceslaus II of Bohemia since 1300 in the Kingdom of Bohemia and became very common throughout Medieval Central Europe.

Coin

It is a silver coin with on the obverse the legend ''DEI GRATIA REX BOEMIE'' ("By the grace of God the King of Bohemia") and on the reverse ''GROSSI PRAGENSES'' ("Prague groschen"). The weight of the coin varies between 3.5 and 3.7 g with a fineness of 933/1000 of silver. The groschen was subdivided into twelve ''parvus'' ("small") coins with a Bohemian heraldic lion sign on the obverse.

History

Minting of this coin started around 1300 after silver mines had been discovered in

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was designa ...

during the reign of the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n king

Wenceslaus II Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1 ...

. King Wenceslaus II invited the Italian lawyer Gozzius of Orvieto to create a mining code ''

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'' which was also partly a reform of the coinage. This, and the high amount of silver found in Kutná Hora, resulted in the implementation of the Prague groschen. Because of the high amount of silver used in the coin, it became one of the most popular of the early Groschen-type coins in medieval Europe. In documents of the era, like e.g. the Peace of Thorn (1411), large amounts of money often were given in more convenient unit, called in Latin ''sexagena'' (= threescore) of Prague groschen, which equals to Czech term ''kopa'' = 5 dozen = ½

small gross In English and related languages, several terms involving the words "great" or "gross" relate to numbers involving a multiple of exponents of 12 (number), twelve (dozen): *A gross refers to a group of 144 (number), 144 items (a dozen dozen or a squ ...

= 60. After the opening of new silver mines in Jáchymov (''Joachimsthal'') the

Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) 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 of ...

, in

known as ''tolar'', came in use. In 1547, minting of Prague groschen was discontinued by king

Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Fernando I may refer to: People * Ferdinand I of León, ''the Great'' (ca. 1000–1065, king from 1037) * Ferdinand I of Portugal and the Algarve, ''the Handsome'' (1345–1383, king from 1367) * Ferdinand I of Aragon and Sicily, '' ...

Etymology

The inspiration came from France where groschen were used since 1266, and replaced old coins called ''denar''. The name came from the Latin ''denarius grossus'' ( en, thick denar).

External links

History of Pražský groš

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prague Groschen 1300 establishments in Europe 1547 disestablishments in Europe Medieval currencies History of Prague Currencies of the Czech Republic Currencies of Europe Currencies of Poland Groschen

Coin

History

See also

Etymology

External links