1 Mariengroschen, Principality of Calenberg, John Frederick, undated, (Welter 1812)
1 Mariengroschen, Principality of Calenberg, Ernest Augustus, 1683 (Welter 2027)

The Mariengroschen ("St. Mary's groschen") is an historical coin that was a type of groschen minted in Lower Saxony and Westphalia from the 16th to the 19th century. It was named after the Virgin Mary who was depicted on the reverse side.[1]

Mariengroschen were first minted in Goslar in 1505 and then in other mints in the Harz mountain region, such as Brunswick and Hildesheim. The first coins were made of 8-lot silver; 80 being struck from 1 gross Cologne Mark. The fine weight decreased in the course of the 16th century;[2] already around 1550 the fineness had been reduced to about half:[1]

  • Brunswick 1514: weight 2.75 g with 1.375 g silver content;
  • Hildesheim 1528: weight 2.88 g with 1.062 silver content;
  • Goslar 1551: weight 2.43 g with 0.91 g silver content;
  • Brunswick 1572: weight 1.504 g with 0.69 g silver content.

The knightly estates of the Lower Saxon Circle, which were entrusted with coin supervision, followed this development. The Meissen Groschen gained influence through the debasement of the Mariengroschen.[3]

Late Mariengroschen

3 Mariengroschen Royal Hanoverian Convention coin, 1818 (Welter 2849)

In the Kingdom of Hanover Mariengroschen were last minted in 1816-1820 as Convention coins;[4] the Duchy of Brunswick minted the Mariengroschen at five lots until 1834; Schaumburg-Lippe until 1821 with 1/4 fineness.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Volume 13. Leipzig 1908, p. 298.
  2. ↑ Vol. 5, p. 273 f.
  3. ↑ Hermann Grote: Münzstudien. 9 vols. Reprint of the Leipzig edition, 1857–1877. Graz: Akad. Druck- u. Verlag-Anst., 1969. ISBN 3-201-00336-0.
  4. ↑ Gerhard Welter: ''Die Münzen der Welfen seit Heinrich dem Löwen, Volume 1 Brunswick, 1971. p452
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mariengroschen.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.