Groschen
Groschen(German:[ˈɡʁɔʃn̩];fromLatin:grossus"thick", viaOld Czechgroš) is the (sometimes colloquial) name for variouscoins,especially asilver coinused in parts ofEuropesuch asFrance,some of theItalian states,England,various states of theHoly Roman Empire,among others. The word is borrowed from the late Latin description of atornose,agrossus denarius Turnosus,in English the "thickdenariusofTours".[1]Groschen was frequently abbreviated in old documents togl,whereby the second letter was not anl(12th letter of the alphabet), but an abbreviation symbol; later it was written asGrorg.
Names and etymology[edit]
The name was introduced in 13th-century France as[denarius] grossus,lit. "thickpenny",whence Old Frenchgros,Italiangrosso,Middle High Germangros(se),Low German and Dutchgrōteand Englishgroat.In the 14th century, it appeared asOld Czechgroš,[2]whence Modern GermanGroschen.
Names in other modern European languages include:
- Albanian:grosh
- Church Slavonic-derived languages:Bulgarian,Macedonian,RussianandSerbo-Croatianгрош(groš),BelarusianandUkrainian:грош(hroš)
- Dutch:groot
- Estonian:kross
- French:gros
- Hungarian:garas
- Lithuanian:grašis
- Polish:grosz
- Romanian:groș
- Yiddish:גראָשן(grošn)
- Turkish:kuruş
- Arabic:qirsh
- Amharic:gersh
- Hebrew:grush
- Greek:γρόσι
- Turkish:kuruş
The Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, Greek and Turkish names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of theOttoman Empirederived from the same Italian origin.
History[edit]
Middle Ages[edit]
Names likegroschen,grossus/grossi,grosso,grossone,grosz,gros,groš,groat,Groten,garasetc. were used in the Middle Ages for allthicksilver coins,as opposed tothinsilver coins such asdeniersorpennies.Historically it was equal to between several and a dozendenarii.
In the German-speaking world, the groschen was usually worth 12 pfennigs; many regional (small) groschen e.g.Neugroschen,Groten(plural: Grote) in northern Germany, English: groat,Mariengroschen,Grösch(e)lwere worth between 2½ and 10 pfennigs. The laterKreuzer,a coin worth 4 pfennigs arose from the linguistic abbreviation of the smallKreuzgroschen.
The groschen was first introduced into theHoly Roman Empirein 1271 by DukeMeinhard IIofTyrolinMerano.It was originally a solid coin of puresilver,larger than thedenariuswhich was no longer valid. In essence, it took the place of a variety of the olderpfennigs,whose silver purity had inflated their value over the centuries. According to one source, the city ofTrieris said to have struck groschen-like, thick pfennigs as early as 1104, which were then followed in 1300 by theBohemian groschenfromKuttenberg.The new coin soon inspired other 'mint lords' (Münzherren) and was given, not least for reasons of economic necessity, a higher face value in theEarly Renaissanceperiod. Upper Italian coins of multiple pfennig value in the High Middle Ages were similarly calledGrossini(cf. alsoSchilling).
The 1286 Tyrolean example (above right) weighs 1.45 grams (22.4 grains), it is marked withME IN AR DVSand aDouble Cross(obverse), and withDUX TIROLand theEagleof Tyrol (reverse).
In 1328 EmperorLouis IV, the Bavarian,authorised CountAdolf VI of Bergto minttornesesinWipperfürth.The oldest groschen in the area that is now modernGermanywere minted there until 1346.
Following the example of the ToursGrossus,thePrague groschenor groš was minted inKuttenbergand, around 1338/1339, theMeissen groschenin Freiburg's National Mint in theMargraviate of Meissen.Both coins gained national importance and had a strong influence on German coinage.Groschenvalued at 12 pfennigs were common. ThePolishgroschen orgroszwas worth only half as much – 6 pfennigs – and was commonly used inSilesiaas agrosch(e)lorgresch(e)lworth just2+1⁄2to 3 pfennigs.
The 'prince's groschen' (Fürstengroschen) set a record in terms of the devaluation of the Meissen groschen. When this groschen was introduced in March 1393, its value was 232⁄5of aRhenish guilder.In 1406, the devaluation of these coins reached its peak: 53 groschen were now equal to 1 Rhenish guilder.[3]
The groschen was minted during theMiddle Agesin the following areas:
- Tirol(from 1271)
- England(from 1279, thegroat)[4]
- Bohemia(from 1300, thePrague groschen,later adopted by most of theCentral Europeancountries)
- Poland(from 1367, theCracowgrosz,3.2 grams (49 grains) of silver, an equivalent of 12denarii)
- Moldavia(from the reign ofPetru I,1375–1391)
- The type was also minted during various times in theDuchy of Luxembourg,such as the 22 millimetre1⁄2gros produced from 1418 to 1425 underJohn III the Pitiless,Duke of Bavaria, bearing slightly varying inscriptions of "IOAH DVX BAVAR Z FILIVS" on the obverse, and "MONE NOVA LUCE BURS" on the reverse.[5]
Early modern period[edit]
Later the tradition ofGroschenwas dropped in most states while others continued to mint only coins smaller than the original coin. In Poland for example, from 1526 these included coins of1⁄2grosz,1grosz,1+1⁄2grosz,2grosz,3grosz,4groszand 6grosz.Their weight steadily dropped to 1.8 grams (28 grains) of silver and since 1752 they were replaced by copper coins of the same name.
InGermany,the nameGroschen(both singular and plural) replacedSchillingas the common name for a 12pfennigcoin. In the 18th century it was used predominantly in the northern states as a coin worth1⁄24of aReichsthaler(equal to1⁄32of aConventionsthaler). In the 19th century, a new currency system was introduced in which theGroschen,often under a new name to distinguish it from the old, was worth1⁄30of aThalerorTaler.This began in 1821 inPrussia,where the coin was called theSilbergroschen(Sgr) and was worth 12 pfennigs.Saxonyfollowed in 1840 with theNeugroschen(ngr), also1⁄30of a thaler, but subdivided in 10 (new) pfennigs.[6][7]Silesia and Bohemia introduced the white groschen (Weissgroschen) in 1821 at the same time as Prussia. Frederick William III of Prussia could not yet decide on the consistent introduction of the decimal system. In order to be able to distinguish his new pfennig' from the old ones, they were calledPfenninge.
The last GermanKurantgroschen(regarding the simple face value) were issued in the Kingdom of Saxony in 1827 and 1828, and in the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1837 based on amonetary standard,theKonventionsfuß,of the state, according to which thesilvercontained in 320 groschen was equal to the weight of aCologne Mark(233.856 grammes).
An exception in relation to the value ofthalercoins is the series of 'butterfly coins' (Schmetterlingsmünzen) in theElectorate of Saxony.All these coins only show their value in groschen; the usual abbreviation for groschen used in the everyday correspondence being used for the denomination on the coins. Likewise, the abbreviation for groschen used in the written word was stamped on the Electoral Saxon goldenReichsgulden zu 21 Groschenof 1584. In this case, it was probably intended to express the fact that it is acoin of account(Rechnungsmünze). Another special case is theKipperthaler,on which the value in groschen (orKreuzer) is also stamped to circumvent theImperial Minting Ordinance(Reichsmünzordnung). Also interesting are thalers, which were minted in denominations of 28 and 24 groschen without differences in design and size. For example, the 24 groschenHosenbandtalerwere also coins of account, which is sometimes not recognized.
FollowingGerman unificationanddecimalisation,with 100 pfennigs to themark,the groschen was replaced by the 10pfennigcoin andgroschenremained a nickname for the 10pfennigcoin until the introduction of theeuro.For the same reason, the nameSechser(sixer) remained in use regionally for the half-groschencoin, 5Pfennigs.
There is aBeethovenrondofor piano, opus 129 (1795) entitled "Die Wut über den verlorenen Groschen"(literally" The Rage Over the Lost Groschen ", but known as"Rage Over a Lost Penny").
Modern currencies[edit]
In recent times, the name was used by three currencies in circulation:
- InPoland,agrosz(plural:groszeorgroszy,depending on the number) is a1⁄100part of azłoty
- InAustria,aGroschen(plural:Groschen) was a1⁄100part of aSchilling(1924–38 and 1945–2001)
- In Turkey, akuruşis a 1/100 part oflira.
Likewise, inGermanygroschen remained a slang term for the 10 pfennig coin, thus a1⁄10part both of the (West German)Deutsche Markand theEast German mark.The word has lost popularity with the introduction of theeuro,although it can still be heard on occasion, especially from older people.
The Ukrainian and Belarusian common word for money,hroshi,derives from the word "grosh".
InBulgaria,thegrosh(Cyrillic:грош) was used as a currency until thelevwas introduced in the 19th century.
InPalestineduring the British Mandate, agrushwas a coin with a hole in it, valued at1⁄100part ofa pound(tenmils). It was named after an Ottoman coin. When the pound was replaced by theliraafterIsraelistatehood in 1948, the name was transferred to a coin (no longer with a hole) worth1⁄100of a lira (ten perutot, later one agora). The name persisted for a while after the lira was replaced by theshekelin 1980 (one new agora, worth ten old agorot), but it gradually lost its standing as the name of a certain coin. Now it is slang for a very small value.[8]
Austriaintroduced the groschen in 1924 as the subdivision of theschilling.It was restored, along with theschilling,in 1945 and continued in use until the introduction of theeuroin 2002.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Wolfgang Pfeifer:Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen.Akademie, Berlin 1989 and other editions, s. v. (online);Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.Revised byElmar Seebold.25th, reviewed and expanded edition. De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2011, s. v.; Arthur Suhle:Kulturgeschichte der Münzen.Battenberg, München 1969, p. 117. – According to another thesis by Arthur Suhle:Deutsche Münz- und Geldgeschichte von den Anfängen bis zum 15. Jahrhundert,Battenberg, Munich, 1964, p. 157 this description may refer to the double cross =crossusof the original coinage, which appeared on very many coins of this type until about 1500 und was then later replaced by the imperial apple with the number 24 until the 18th century.
- ^GroschenArchived2011-04-18 at theWayback Machinein the Grimm online dictionary
- ^Walther Haupt:Sächsische Münzkunde(1974), p. 67: 53 Groschen auf den rheinischen Gulden
- ^Tony Clayton (20 September 1997)."Four Pence".Coins of England and Great Britain.Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 1997.
- ^http://numisbel.be/1866_11.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^Heinz Fengler, Gerd Gierow, Willy Unger: transpress Lexikon Numismatik, Berlin 1976. In German.
- ^Paul Arnold, Harald Küthmann, Dirk Steinhilber: Großer deutscher Münzkatalog von 1800 bis heute, Augsburg 1997. In German.
- ^Philologos (pseudonym), "Money Hole",The Forward,November 28, 2003.
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