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The rough, i.e. large coin, minted in Bohemia shortly before 1520 by Count Slika in their private mint in Jáchymov, modeled after the Tyrolean and Saxon "guldens", gave the name to a new type of large silver money. From "Joachimsthalergulden" arose the German name "Thaler" and the Czech "taler", which has remained in various countries and in various forms until today. However, with its larger area - up to 44 mm - the taler also gave new possibilities to artistic expression on Czech coins. However, since the time of the penny, the legal nature of the coin has actually only required a new rendering of representative images, the coin issuer's emblem and its likeness, or the emblem of the state and country. But within this limitation, artistic expression moved completely freely.
Also new on Czech talers are the marks of the mintmaster or vardajn, the second official of the mint, responsible for the mintage and quality of the coins. Since 1511, dates have also appeared on Czech coins.
The Slikovský two-taler coin from the year 15 20 from the mint in Jáchymov, the first Czech two-taler coin ever, has on the obverse an image of a massive Czech lion in a smooth, sometimes interrupted and beaded circle, interrupted at the top by a lion's crown, characterized already in the early Renaissance version by rich drawings, mainly manes and the tail, striving for the greatest fullness of the inner field of the coin. The cross in the first loop of the double tail, the same as the dividing mark in Descriptions, is the mark of one of the first Rudolph medalists in Jáchymov, where a characteristic religious medal was also created at that time, the engravers of which were mostly also creators of taler stamps.
Descriptions + LVOOVICVS + PRIMVS + OEI + GRACE - REX + BOEM +1520
The outer circle is double, smooth and of a thin laurel wreath.
Shortly after his accession to Bohemia, Ferdinand L pushed for the Šlikov mint in Jáchymov to issue coins, talers and groschen, only of the royal type, i.e. with the image of the king, with his coat of arms and full title. The title of the Habsburg rulers is very complex and is squeezed into the Descriptions on the coins only by means of abbreviations. The renaissance, the broad current of which also engulfed Central Europe at the time and forced the creation of a large monetary denomination, left its mark on coin images as well. Council of the first so-called government talers from Jáchymovsk is a rich example of this. Their simple elegance is the result of the influence of the great masters of Italian and German Renaissance medals. The relationship between the creation and production of medals and coins reaches its peak in the beginnings of the taler currency in our country. J
On the obverse of the taler of Ferdinand I. without date (from 1527-1528), the work of the mint master and engraver Utz Gebhart, there is a half figure of the king on the left in a double - rope-like, interrupted at the top, and beaded - inner circle. He has a youthful face and is dressed in Renaissance knightly armor with the main attributes of his power: a crown on his head and a scepter in his right hand. In his left hand he holds the hilt of a sword and on his breast is an order of the golden fleece. The portrait of the king, which impresses with its calm majesty, is related to the coin images in the Hall (Inntal) and influenced by the early medallic works of the German Renaissance.
Descriptions: mintmark FERDIN AN v D v G v BOEM v HUNG v DAL v CRO v REX v INF
The outer circle is made of chopped pearls.
In a double inner circle, cord-shaped and made of cut pearls, a squared shield under the crown, arched inwards on the sides with Czech-Hungarian symbols, in the middle a label with Austro-Burgundian symbols. The plain simplicity of the lines has a calm grandeur, to which the clear, uncluttered shape of the Renaissance font also contributes.
taler stamps were also punched until the introduction of coin cylinders. Also, their hallmarks always formed larger parts of the image: the entire head, arm or hand, wing or tail of an eagle. The image was often horribly deformed due to the incorrect insertion of a punch into the matrix.
Descriptions: mintmark HISP v ARCH ID v AVSTv DVX v BVRG v SLE v MARCH v MO
The outer circle is made of chopped pearls.
Other powerful feudal lords also tried to imitate the profitable example of the Šlikov coinage in Jáchymov, for whom independent minting was a sign of belonging to the most select family group of the nobility. Jan of Pernštejn, in the years 1537-1547 the lord of Kladsk, minted rare ducats, talers and their parts there, on the obverse side of which an unknown Wrocław iron cutter, according to an unknown design, tastefully placed two connected shields with signs in the inner pearl circle between the rich decoration of stylized leaf motifs . On the right is a Pernštejn bison head in a very impressive plastic presentation, on the left two Kladsk stripes. The whole is one of the most effective coin images of the taler period.
Descriptions IOHAN x- BÁRO * A * BERNSTEIN * IN ♦ HELF The outer circle is made of chopped pearls.
In a beaded inner circle, the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia, to which the county of Kladsk belonged at the time, a two-tailed lion walking right. Even this Renaissance-rich, dynamic drawing, originally solved in the details of the head, body and especially the tail of the lion, is the work of an unknown engraver from Wrocław. Concealed in the fringes of the mane is a hitherto unnoticed inscription in Gothic capitals: GLAC, placed upside down.
Descriptions MONE * NO * COMITATVS * GLACENS * 1540 The outer circle is made of pearls.
Another feudal family, striving for all the attributes of supreme power and regent independence, were the Rožmberk family, who temporarily acquired the material base for their own coinage in the mines in Silesian Rychleby. There, not only a large number of William of Rožmberk ducats were minted, but also his very rare silver coins, talers of two types. The dies for both types of these talers were engraved by Wrocław iron cutter Mathes Kauerhase.
On the face of the first of them, in an inner circle of tiny pearls, there is a carved shield with the Rosenberg coat of arms, wrapped around the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece, whose badge, the golden fleece, interrupts the Descriptions below. Above the shield is a crowned helmet with rich foliated fafrnoches and a five-petaled rose within a jewel, dividing the Descriptions above.
Descriptions WILHELM J REGIRj D HAVS ROSENB 87
The outer circle is made of pearls.
In a double, plain and beaded circle, interrupted at the top, St. is walking to the right. Christopher. He is dressed in a short doublet and has a richly flowing cloak. He is barefoot. He has a pilgrim's scrotum at his waist, a pilgrim's stick (uprooted tree) in his right hand, and on his left shoulder the baby Jesus, holding an apple, symbolizing his rule over the world. A well-composed picture impresses especially with the richness of the developed form in the burning half and its contrast against the smooth surfaces in the lower half of the field. It is the work of Wrocław iron cutter Mathes Kauerhas.
Descriptions MONETA $ NOVA J ARGEN REICHSTEIN 87
The outer circle is beaded.
taler of Rudolph II. of the Prague mintmaster Lazar Erckr from 1585, X has on the reverse an image of a flying imperial double-headed crowned eagle in an inner smooth and beaded circle. On the eagle's breast is an imperial apple with an Austrian label, a sword in the right claw, a scepter in the left. The image, which was designed by the distinguished medalist Antonio Abondio (f 1591), suffered greatly from the artisanal transcription into the dies of ordinary coins. However, this is an interesting attempt to deviate from strict regulations and express the imperial coat of arms in all its details without heraldic stiffness. Unfortunately, Abondi's proposal was not preserved. The Prague iron cutter Michal Stolz carved the die wheel. The image of a flying eagle, together with the entire figure of the monarch on the obverse, was a characteristic mark of the Prague Mint's product, made from material supplied by one of the greatest smiths of Rudolph's time, Bartholomew Albrecht of Nuremberg.
Descriptions • ARCHIDVX • AVSTRI mincm. sign DVX • BV • MA • M • 1585.
The outer circle is made of chopped pearls.
The effort of a few of the most powerful nobles to obtain the privilege of their own coinage forced the monarchs in the moments of dynastic resurrections to pay various services by granting the right to coin. Thus, in 1608, František of Dietrichstein extorted from Rudolf IL, taking advantage of his disagreements with his brother Matyáš, confirmation of the old coinage right of the bishops of Olomouc, and apparently started minting right away in his mint in Kroměříž. His important position as deputy during the fateful times of the Habsburg victory over the Czech uprising provided him with the best conditions. Among the series of neat talers with a portrait of a cardinal by an unknown artist on the obverse, the reverse image of the figure of St. Wenceslas, of the late Renaissance movement, with great attention to detail in the decoration of the knight's armour, cloak, ducal hat, banner and shield with an eagle. The engraver did not forget the halo, which seems to it was not shown in the original design. However, the saint has the face of an old man. The image is closed by an inner, open top and bottom ribbon-like circle, v
Descriptions S . WENCES • ECCLyfi. | OLOMVCEN • PAT •
The outer circle is made of chopped pearls.
silver. 40mm 28.91g NATIONAL MUSEUM COLLECTION.
In the inner, rope-like and smooth, broken circle at the top, a checkered Moravian eagle, tastefully laid out in the area of the coin field. This most beautiful and very rare Moravian coin was minted by mint master Kryštof Cantor in the estate mint in Olomouc. J
Unfortunately, we still do not know the creator of her paintings.
Descriptions * COIN * NEW * TRADEMARK * MORAVIZE
The outer ring is double, smooth and composed of densely arranged flower cups.
silver. 42 mm 28.89 g NATIONAL MUSEUM COLLECTION.
In a double, corded and smooth inner circle, above and below V broken, an image that impresses with its deep symbolism, even if it is of average execution: a pyramid, on the base of which is the inscription VNÍIO (= Unity), wrapped three times by a vine with leaves and ending at the top in Descriptions with a small ball. On both sides of it in the field are the letters CC, the mark of the mint master Kryštof Cantor.
Descriptions, relating to unity, form a thought unit with an image, the meaning of which would not be clear without Descriptions verbal explanation *YOU* BECOME * |*|*| VIREBO * 1620 [if you stand, I will be strong].
The outer circle is made of flower calyxes.
Image of the obverse of the taler of Ferdinand III. (the illustrated specimen is from the Jachymov mint under mint master David Knobloch) was engraved by the Prague mint cutter Šalamoun Skultét according to the medal of Alessandro Abondio (see no. 69). The transcription of the noble original was, however, simplified and flattened; in a number of lines and thickened. However, it was supplemented with some details (for example, in the decoration on the chest or in the shape of lace). Even if it does not reach the height of its original, this image is one of the most impressive on modern Czech coins.
In a rope-like inner circle, wide open at the bottom, a bust of the bare-haired Ferdinand III. to left, with long hair, wide lying collar, richly decorated with lace, on breast on ribbon order of golden fleece. The bust divides the Descriptions below and extends to the edge of the coin.
Descriptions begin at lower right FERDIN • III • D • G • R • IMPERATOR * S • A .
The outer ring is cord-shaped.
X If it was used for minting in modern times, however, according to the royal order, the minting right granted to individual noble families, it fell into disrepair after a hundred years. Therefore, the feudal lords tried to restore minting, regardless of the profit from minting, only for reasons of prestige. During the Thirty Years' War, the Šlikovský mint was thus restored on the basis of profits from its own silver mines near Planá.
The face of the depicted taler of the hetman and administrator of the mint in Plana, Jan Pellet, emphasizes the legal side of the coin, in which he tries to give to the emperor and to God what is theirs. In the double inner, rope-like and smooth circle, open at the top and bottom, in the upper half, in a typical baroque frame, there is a figural scene, usual on Šlikov coins since the renewal of the coinage: a scene of the Baby Jesus between the Virgin Mary and St. Anna. In the lower half, there is a crowned, baroquely carved and slightly decorated square shield with the Šlikov coat of arms and a small middle plate. On the sides of the shield in an arch, the year 1. 6. -. 60.
Descriptions FRA : ERN : SCHLIK. | HOW: TO • PASS •
The outer ring is smooth and pearly.
In the upper part, the so-called double blow, caused by a double blow of the punch.
Even baroque flamboyance was able to create extraordinarily impressive coin images. The reverse of the taler of Olomouc bishop Karel Lotrinský, minted in 1702 in the Kroměříž mint with dies made by the engraver Jiří Krauth, does not give the impression of overcrowding, although it is full of family and power symbols. In the double-framed central oval is a squared shield with the emblems of the Olomouc bishopric and the birthmark of Karel Lotrinský in the middle. It is backed by a Maltese cross and a crossed crutch and sword. On the sides are two crowned eagles, above the shield a ducal crown. The whole is gracefully complemented by acanthus flourishes at the bottom.
Descriptions of DVX. LOTHAR • ET • BAR • S • R • I • PS • R • C • BO :
C O M « 1702
The outer ring is double, smooth and stringy.
The unification of all the mints of the Habsburg countries in 1659 - with some exceptions - also led to efforts for a more uniform type of coins, especially of the same denominations, minted in various countries of the Czech or Hungarian crown, or in individual Alpine countries. The origin of the coin was indicated by the heraldic figure of the country in the double-headed eagle breastplate. Even now, in the dictated uniformity, even the rough coins of the Habsburg countries still used the national emblem in their image in addition to the mark of the mintmaster. Small coins had only this sign in their image. The struggle to preserve the difference in land use was a reflection of the struggle for state law.
From the beginning of the 18th century, the uniform character of the coins of the Habsburg state was determined in Vienna and artistically influenced by the Imperial Academy of Engraving, which was founded there in 1715. However, in individual mints, local cutters modified the official design slightly.
In a rope-like inner circle, open at the top and bottom, a crowned double-headed eagle with a sword in the right and a scepter in the left joint, on the breast a crowned oval shield with a Bohemian lion, suspended by a chain and the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Below in the Descriptions, the mintmark of Bernhard Wonsiedler, mintmaster in Kutná Hora: above two hills, a crossed miner's hammer between the letters BW.
The whole picture, by fitting it into the circle of the coin field, belongs to the most beautiful manifestations of Baroque engraving art.
Descriptions GERMAN HUNGARY AND KING OF BOHEMIA 17 11
The outer circle is double, rope-like and made of chopped pearls.
The bishops of Olomouc understood very well the possibility of profits from their own coinage and for a long time successfully defended it against the court chamber. With coin images, they more than once claimed to be the patrons of the land. In addition to strictly depicted personal and archbishopric coats of arms, their talers feature entire figural scenes (on the obverse of the illustrated specimen it is a seated St. Wenceslas in the clouds among angels), presented with all the baroque breadth and richness, but also with meticulous care for heraldic details. The reverse of Count Wolfgang Schrattenbach's taler has an image of a seated St. Cyril, turned to the right, in a richly decorated baroque dress, cloak, mitre, crutch and oval shield, richly decorated on the edges. Around the head is a halo symbolized by a double circle, in the right hand of the translator of the Scriptures is a book in ironwork and marked IHS, the left hand holds a crutch.
Descriptions S : CYRILL-PRIM-1 APOST. MORAV- 1730
The outer circle is made of chopped pearls.
Attempts at new silver mining in Jáchymov under Maria Theresa provided the material from which they were minted in the Prague mint under mintmaster P.
Erdmann in 1758 and 1759 yield talers. Their reverse - the work of the iron cutter František Altomonte - has approximately the same image of the double-headed Habsburg eagle, which became a permanent feature of the reverse of the taler coins of the Habsburg succession in various stylistic variations. Only the pectoral crowned shield is vertically bisected. In the right field is the figure of St. Jáchyma as a symbol of the mine of the same saint, in the left is the coat of arms of the Czech kingdom. Down in the tail feathers are crossed miner's hammers. The tiny recumbent St. Andrew's cross at the end of the Descriptions is a mark of the so-called of the cross taler, a twenty-gold currency, introduced by the reform in 1750 and named, according to the convention with Bavaria in 1753, the conventional currency.
Descriptions S • JOACHIMS • THALER YIELD -1758 x
The outer circle is made of pearls.
