Jester's Challenge #6

1jester

Welcome, Darkside Collectors (and all others who wish to participate)!!!

Inspired by others here on the Darkside forum, including Severo, Rublevik, Ajaan, Cacheman, Aethelred, Mongoose, Wybrit, LordMarcovan, Askari, Shirohniichan and many others, I'd like to start what I hope will turn into a great learning experience for all of us. The above-mentioned members, and many others, have done a formidable job in sharing with us many fascinating and historically important coins. Since that's one of the greatest pleasures to me, I'd like to try to follow in that time-honored tradition and submit for your pleasure and entertainment some world coins I've come across in my short lifetime.

I will pick out a coin on a regular basis, and post it along with the challenge to you to name the coin, its provenance, denomination, metallic content, mintage, any distinguishing characteristics or noteworthy features, and its value. The more information, the better. I'd like as many people as possible to participate, regardless of how little knowledge you might have on the subject. I appreciate comments on every aspect of the coin, including its history, or its role in human history, or info on similar coins in its series, etc. I myself don't assume to know 1/100 of what you collectively know, hence my challenge to all of you to share your knowledge with the rest of us. Hopefully this exercise will encourage thought, discussion, and primarily more friendship.

Thanks for your participation!!!

Here goes the sixth selection:

Severo

Well, the only thing that comes to my mind is 'Grossus Pragensis', or Grossus of Prague, a silver coin which had one of the longest lives in the history of coinage. However, on all such coins that I've seen there were two circles of legend on the side with the crown, while I see only one on this coin. Might it be that the outer ring was shaved off or removed in some manner?.. Or perhaps it's just a variety / type I'm unfamiliar with.

By the way, I see strange graffiti which reads A.R. (side 2, bottom) - what might it be?

And also, I would like to say that this is a great idea, 1jester! The coins are really a pleasure to see, and the comments they inspire are educating. Keep up the good work!

Severo

Severo

Forgot to add: Prague is the capital of modern Czech Republic which is more or less the same (?) as Medieval Bohemia. I think I can read 'Boemia' or something on the side 2.

Severo

1jester

Severo, thanks for the kind comments. I liked your idea of showing different coins, so I'm more of a copy-cat, in fact!

And you're right on the money as to the origins of this coin. It is indeed Bohemian, or more precisely, from Prague. It is not, however, a Gross/Grossus (grosz). This coin is a bit smaller. And good work noticing one of the distinguishing features of this coin--the graffiti. It is a counterstamp of a famous collector of the 19th century. Can anyone guess who this coin once belonged to?

I'd like to point to another interesting feature. See the black stuff between the devices? It is what's left over from a coating of lacquer of hundreds of years ago. Most of it's gone, but some remains. I think that's way cool.

shirohniichan

I thought the "AR" was a counterstamp indicating it was genuine silver (argent).

1jester

Since it seems that nobody has the answers yet, I'll give them to you. The coin is called a Parvus, and it's similar in size to the denar (penny), about 14 mm. I'm not sure when it was minted, but I think around the 14th century. And the name of the collector in who owned this coin is Antoni Ryszard, who I believe was a Warsaw banker of the mid 19th century. So this coin is for all intents and purposes unique.

1jester

ttt