Privy marks on crowns in L. E. Bruun Collection

worldcoinguy

Apologies for recycling a topic which has probably been covered several times in the past. I noticed many of the lots in the Bruun collection mention of "privy" marks. My basic understanding is these are mint marks. Can anybody explain the different between a privy mark and a mint mark?

One of many examples in Stacks catalogue:
https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1AKRJX/denmark-2-krone-1651-copenhagen-mint-privy-mark-halberd-frederik-iii-ngc-au-58

worldcoinguy

Am I interpreting this correct that this would be privy for mint master Johan Post (1614-21)?
https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1AKR3T/denmark-speciedaler-1618-copenhagen-mint-privy-mark-clover-christian-iv-ngc-ms-62

WillieBoyd2

The US MInt has an official explanation of privy marks:

https://www.usmint.gov/news/inside-the-mint/privy-marks-on-coins

Sapyx

@worldcoinguy said:

Can anybody explain the different between a privy mark and a mint mark?

Privy marks, on mediaeval and early modern European coins, had quite a different purpose to what the US Mint and many other modern mints (eg. RAM, RCM, Perth) use them for.

A "privy mark", in the original sense, is the personal (or "private") mark of a specific person - a mint official or die engraver. Coins often had several privy marks, depending on how many officials were obligated to sign off on the coinage. That person took the punch for their privy mark with them whenever they relocated to a different branch mint, or even a different country's mint.

Now, some privy marks were those of mint officials who remained at specific mints, and so they become functionally similar to "mintmarks". But in general, a "mintmark" represents the mint as a while, while a "privy mark" represents a specific person working at the mint.

As time progressed, some mints adopted a permanent privy mark for the mint itself. The Paris Mint, for example, stopped changing privy marks some time in the 1800s and kept the cornucopia as a fixed privy mark. Here, the only difference between a "mintmark" and a "privy mark" is the shape; a mintmark is usually just a letter, number of simple symbol, while a privy mark is more complicated, usually a small image of an object.

@worldcoinguy said:
Am I interpreting this correct that this would be privy for mint master Johan Post (1614-21)?

Yes.

Sapyx

Privy marks are important for variety classification. A person would leave the mint's employ at random times throughout the year, meaning that there are many "transition years" where two different privy marks can be found for the same year. If a mint worker left/resigned/died in November 1632, for example, most of the coins dated 1632 will bear his privy mark, but some 1632-dated coins could well be struck in December under his successor and bear a different privy mark. Those latter coins will likely be rarer (since they were only struck for 1 month, as opposed to 11 months) and thus more valuable.