bavarikon4UMedieval Coins from Bavaria
The development of a continuously independent coinage conducted by dukes of Bavaria took off with a coin minted for Duke Arnulf I the Evil (d. 937, duke from 907) from Ratisbon. Thereby, the so-called "Ratisbon penny" was introduced which was set to become the most important penny in mediaeval Bavaria.
Already with the start of the continuous coinage set in Ratisbon a development had started within the empire in the course of which the value of pennies, set by weight and silver content, was to become ever more diverse, depending on the mints and regions. Thereby, a phenomenon of small currency areas developed which is called the period of the regional penny and which lasted from about 1125 to 1250.
The late mediaeval monetary history was rather influenced by opposite trends. The ever-returning debasement of coinage forced the minting authorities to work towards more stable currency systems. Such efforts also led to the creation of larger currency areas by the merger of single authorities. Nonetheless, the stable types of pennies were preferred by trade and economy.
The probably most severe debasement of currency happened during the so-called "Schinderlingszeit" (1457–1460) reaching up to 90%.
>> This collection is part of the holdings of the Staatliche Münzsammlung (State Coin Collection).