From the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to the

Early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

(or even later), to have minting rights was to have "the power to

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 ...

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 and to control

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

within one's own dominion."

History

In the Middle Ages there were at times a large number of

mints A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach, given their association with natural byproducts ...

, and similar coins could have different denominations depending on who minted them, but there were certain coinage regulations. 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 ...

, the right to mint coins, known as the ''Münzrecht'', was granted by the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

to individual feudal princes and cities. As in the

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

under

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

, the empire initially minted coins itself but, from the 10th century, more and more fiefdoms and institutions were granted the right to mint coins. For example,

Emperor Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

gave minting rights to the Archbishopric of Cologne. In the 16th century, the Empire stopped minting coins itself and only specified minting regulations. Similarly, within European kingdoms, the king granted the right to mint coins. Individual monasteries of supraregional importance were granted the right to mint coins by the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, such as the

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with t ...

in 1058. A special event in

Saxon coin history The history of Saxon coinage or Meissen-Saxon coinage comprises three major periods: the High Middle Ages, high medieval regional pfennig period (bracteate period), the late Middle Ages, late medieval pfennig period and the thaler period, which en ...

was the establishment of a separate mint by Elector Frederick II in

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig (district), Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C prisoner-of-war camp, POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situa ...

for his wife and the granting of the minting rights to her. As compensation for the high

life estate In common law and statutory law, a life estate (or life tenancy) is the ownership of immovable property for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms, it is an estate in real property that ends at death, when the property rights may rever ...

promised to her as the Archduchess of Austria, she was granted the

seigniorage Seigniorage , also spelled seignorage or seigneurage (), is the increase in the value of money due to money creation minus the cost of producing the additional money. Monetary seigniorage is where government bonds are exchanged for newly create ...

: i.e. a certain share in it from the Colditz Mint. The looming future difficulties (see '' Schwertgroschen'') may have prompted the Elector to ask the Emperor Frederick III to ensure his wife received the right to mint coins in Colditz in the name of his two sons until the end of their lives.Krug (1974), p. 83

References

External links

* Hubert Emmerig (2010). "Münzrecht (Mittelalter/Frühe Neuzeit)". In: ''Historisches Lexikon Bayerns.''

Literature

* Gerhard Krug: ''Die meißnisch-sächsischen Groschen 1338–1500'' (1974) {{Authority control Monetary policy Business law Numismatics

History

See also

References

External links

Literature