Lilia Dergaciova (Bucharest),
Nicolai Bodnariuc (Oprysheny)
A COIN HOARD OF HUNGARIAN DENARS
FROM MATTHIAS CORVINUS
AND VLADISLAV II FROM CHERNIVTSI REGION.
TO THE PROBLEM OF THE NEW MINT-MARKS
The paper at hand focus on a small hoard of the 16th century, recently found in the Chernivtsi region. Due to the information offered by discoverers, the hoard was found on the territory of Bârlinți village, abandoned today, but mentioned in written sources since the 15th century. According to topographic maps and written sources, it was located on the left bank of the Kotovets River, 500-600 meters from its discharge in the Siret River.
Over the last two decades, numerous archaeological artefacts have been found at this site. Their presence confirms its function since the late 14th century to the 60s of the 19th century. The peak of the development falls on the 16th-17th centuries. Thus, our coin hoard fits perfectly into the chronological range of the settlement.
The hoard consists of 31 silver Denars, struck in the reign of Matthias Corvinus and Vladislav II (24 and 7 items, respectively), between 1468 and 1505. Only one coin, the youngest one, has a year of issue. The coins were minted at the mints of Kremnitz (Matthias Corvinus – 18, Vladislav II – 7), Nagybánya (2), Buda (1), Kosica (1), Wrocław (1) and Vienna (1). The hoard is not unique to medieval Principality of Moldova. Due to economic relations with Transilvania through the cities of Bistrița and Brașov, the post-reform Denars of Matthias Corvinus, of Patrona Hungariae type, entered the territory of Principality. They took part in the local monetary circulation actively. Moreover, the coins of these two issuers have been registered in the composition of numerous coin complexes, hidden during the early 16th – first half of the 18th centuries (in total, over 30 hoards).
The hoard contains some coins with the mint-marks of the craftsmen and/or a combination of the marks that have not been described in numismatic catalogues. The most notable are Denars of Matthias Corvinus, struck in Kremnitz, which can be attributed to the coin production of Veil Mühlstein, those minted by Wrocław and Vienna, during the governorship of Stephanus Zápolya. Special attention deserves the coins of Vladislav II, Kremnitz’ production, signed by Stephanus Ryzmegl & Erasmus Rezl, Andreas Hellebrand & Franz Körnidel.