Item number: A1845

Year: AD 1538

Material: Silver

Size: 15.5 x 15.2 x 0.2 mm

Weight: 0.55 g

Manufactured by: Kremnica Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This is a denar silver coin issued in AD 1538 in the name of King Ferdinand I of Hungary. On average, 96 silver denars were equivalent to 16 groschen, which corresponded to 2 thalers or 2 guldiners, equating to 1 forint.

The obverse of the silver coin features the coat of arms of Ferdinand I at its centre. The small shield within the main emblem displays a horizontal band across the shield, representing the Archduchy of Austria. The larger shield supporting the smaller one is divided into four quadrants: the upper left contains multiple horizontal stripes, symbolising the Árpád dynasty, the founders of the Kingdom of Hungary; the upper right features the Hungarian double cross, denoting Hungarian sovereignty; the lower left displays a crowned leopard’s head facing forward, signifying Dalmatia, a region now part of present-day Croatia and Bosnia; the lower right showcases a crowned rampant lion, representing the Kingdom of Bohemia. The shield is encircled by a border, with an outer ring bearing the Latin inscription “FERDINAND · D · G · R · VNG,” which expands to “Ferdinandus Dei Gratia Rex Ungariae,” meaning “Ferdinand, by the grace of God, King of Hungary.” The upper section of the coin bears the inscription “1538,” indicating the year of issue.

The reverse of the silver coin depicts a seated full-length image of the Virgin Mary, crowned and holding the Christ Child in her right arm. On either side of the image are the letters “KB,” representing the mint mark of Kremnica (Körmöcbánya in Hungarian), where “K” denotes the mint and “B” refers to the mint master, Bernhard Behem. After AD 1540, this mint’s coinage mark was standardised as “KB.” The central imagery is enclosed by a border, with the outer ring bearing the Latin inscription “PATRONA VNGARIE,” meaning “Patron Saint of Hungary.”

The Kremnica Mint, established in AD 1328 and located in present-day Slovakia, is one of the oldest continuously operating mints in Europe. Due to the region’s rich gold deposits, the mint became a major centre for currency production in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, it was renowned across Europe for minting high-purity and high-quality gold florins (forints) and ducats. During the Habsburg rule (16th to 19th centuries), the mint continued producing currency for the empire and, with industrialisation in the 19th century, adopted mechanised techniques, becoming a key minting facility for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Following the establishment of Czechoslovakia in AD 1918, the mint became the country’s official minting institution. After Slovakia’s independence in AD 1993, it continued producing the nation’s currency and, since AD 2009, has been responsible for minting euro coins. Currently, the mint remains operational, producing currency for Slovakia and various other nations, along with commemorative coins, medals, and other metal crafts.

Hungary’s first king, Stephen I (reigned AD 1000–1038), initiated the minting of denar silver coins during his reign. These coins were of high quality and widely accepted in international trade. In the 14th century, Charles I (Károly Róbert) implemented monetary reforms, introducing the gold forint modelled after the Florentine florin (Fiorino d’oro). Due to the high value of the gold forint, groschen (garas) were introduced as subsidiary currency. In the 15th century, Matthias Corvinus (Hunyadi Mátyás, reigned AD 1458–1490) reformed the monetary system, establishing a stable currency structure and introducing the image of the Virgin Mary on coins, making it a central element of Hungarian coin design. During the Habsburg rule, Leopold I standardised the currency system across the Holy Roman Empire, formally introducing the Kreuzer as a circulating currency in Hungary. In AD 1753, the signing of the Austria-Bavaria Monetary Convention established a unified convention thaler system. The Kreuzer replaced the denar as Austria’s and its controlled territories’ subsidiary currency. After the reign of Maria Theresa (AD 1740–1780), denars were no longer minted. In AD 1816, the Österreichische Nationalbank (Austrian National Bank) was officially established. This currency system remained in place until AD 1857, when Austria adopted the silver-based “Vereinsthaler” system, leading to the gradual replacement of the Kreuzer, which was converted from silver to copper. In Habsburg-ruled Hungary, the Kreuzer remained in use until AD 1892, when it was ultimately replaced by the krone.

Ferdinand I (AD 1503–1564) was a significant ruler of the Habsburg dynasty, serving as Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, and later being crowned Holy Roman Emperor in AD 1558. He was the second son of Philip I of Castile and Queen Joanna of Castile, born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. From AD 1521 onwards, he governed the Austrian territories. In AD 1526, following the death of King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia in the Battle of Mohács, Ferdinand, through his marriage to Anne, the sister of Louis II, claimed the thrones of both Hungary and Bohemia. However, his rule in Hungary was contested by John Zápolya, leader of Transylvania, leading to a prolonged struggle for the Hungarian crown. In the wars against the Ottoman Empire, Vienna was besieged in AD 1529 and again in AD 1532, and Ferdinand was ultimately able to maintain control only over the western part of Hungary. In AD 1556, following the abdication of Emperor Charles V, Ferdinand succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor. His reign focused on maintaining imperial stability and mediating between Catholics and Protestants, culminating in the Peace of Augsburg (AD 1555), which established the principle of Cuius regio, eius religio. He passed away in Vienna in AD 1564.

物件編號: A1845

年代: 公元 1538 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 15.5 x 15.2 x 0.2 mm

重量: 0.55 g

製造地: 克雷姆尼察鑄幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這是一枚公元1538年，以匈牙利國王斐迪南一世之名發行的代納爾銀幣。平均而言，96銀代納爾等於16格羅申(Groschen) 等於2塔勒(Thaler) 或2金格羅申(Guldiner)等於1福林(Forint)。

銀幣的正面中央為斐迪南一世之紋章，中央小盾徽為一橫帶槓於盾中，代表奧地利大公國。承托小盾徽的較大盾徽分為四個象限，左上部分的多條橫帶，代表創立匈牙利王國的阿爾帕德王朝；右上部分為代表匈牙利統治者的匈牙利雙十字；左下部分為戴冠的豹首，正視前方，代表達爾馬提亞地區，其位於今克羅埃西亞與波士尼亞境內；右下部分為戴冠人立的雄獅，代表波希米亞王國。盾徽以圓圈環繞，外圈為拉丁簡寫「FERDINAND · D · G · R · VNG」，即「Ferdinandus Dei Gratia Rex Ungariae」，意為「斐迪南，蒙上帝恩典，匈牙利國王」。上方之「1538」，標示了發行年。

銀幣的背面中央則是聖母瑪利亞全身坐像，頭戴冠冕，右手環抱聖子。人像兩側「KB」，為克雷姆尼察(Kremnica, 或匈牙利語Körmöcbánya)鑄幣廠的鑄幣標記「K」，與鑄幣局局長貝恩哈德·貝赫姆(Bernhard Behem)的標記「B」，公元1540年後該鑄幣廠之鑄幣標記固定為「KB」。以圓圈環繞，外圈為拉丁文「PATRONA VNGARIE」，意為「匈牙利的主保聖人」。

克雷姆尼察鑄幣廠(Kremnica Mint)成立於公元1328年，位於今斯洛伐克，是歐洲歷史最悠久且持續運營至今的鑄幣廠之一。該廠因當地豐富的金礦資源而成為中世紀匈牙利王國的貨幣生產中心，公元14至16世紀大量鑄造弗羅林/福林金幣(Florins/Forint)與達克特金幣(Ducat)，以高純度與穩定品質於歐洲聞名。哈布斯堡王朝時期(公元16至19世紀)，該廠持續為帝國生產貨幣，並於公元19世紀工業化後引進機械化技術，成為奧匈帝國的重要鑄幣基地。捷克斯洛伐克於公元1918年成立後，該廠成為官方鑄幣機構，公元1993年斯洛伐克獨立後繼續生產該國貨幣，自公元2009年起負責歐元硬幣的鑄造。目前仍在運營，除生產斯洛伐克貨幣，亦為多國提供貨幣與紀念幣，並製造紀念章與獎牌等金屬工藝品。

匈牙利的首位國王，伊什特萬一世(公元1000-1038年在位)，任內始鑄代納爾(Dénár)銀幣，這些硬幣質量上乘，在國際貿易中廣受認可。公元14世紀，查理一世(Károly Róbert)實施貨幣改革，引入了仿照佛羅倫薩金幣(Fiorino d’oro)的金福林(Forint)，由於金福林價值較高，作為輔幣的格羅申(Garas)也被引入。公元15世紀，匈雅提·馬加什一世(Hunyadi Mátyás，公元1458-1490年在位)進行貨幣改革，確立了一套穩定的貨幣制度，並首次在貨幣上引入聖母瑪利亞的形象，使其成為匈牙利貨幣設計的核心元素之一。在哈布斯堡王朝統治時期，利奧波德一世(I. Lipót)推行神羅境內貨幣統一，正式引入克羅斯作為匈牙利流通貨幣。公元1753年，奧地利-巴伐利亞貨幣公約的簽訂，確立了一套統一的公約塔勒體系。克羅斯取代代納爾，成為奧地利及其控制地區的小額輔幣。瑪麗亞·特蕾莎(公元1740-1780年在任)後，不再鑄造代納爾。公元1816年奧地利國家銀行(Österreichische Nationalbank)正式成立。此貨幣體系一直維持到公元1857年奧地利採用銀本位「同盟塔勒」(Vereinsthaler)體系，克羅斯才逐步被取代，由銀改銅，在哈布斯堡帝國統治的匈牙利地區，克羅斯的使用甚至持續至公元1892年，最終被克朗取代。

斐迪南一世(生卒公元1503-1564年)為哈布斯堡王朝的重要統治者，曾任奧地利大公、匈牙利與波希米亞國王，並於公元1558年加冕為神聖羅馬帝國皇帝。他是卡斯提亞國王腓力一世與胡安娜女王的次子，出生於西班牙阿爾卡拉-埃納雷斯，公元1521年起統治奧地利領地。公元1526年，匈牙利與波希米亞國王拉約什二世在抵抗土耳其人的摩哈赤戰役中戰死，斐迪南透過與拉約什二世之妹安娜的婚姻關係，繼承這兩個王國的王位。然而，他在匈牙利的統治受到外西凡尼亞領袖扎波堯伊·亞諾什的挑戰，雙方爭奪匈牙利王位，導致長期衝突。在與鄂圖曼帝國的戰爭中，維也納曾於公元1529年和公元1532年遭到圍攻，斐迪南最終僅能控制匈牙利西部。公元1556年，查理五世退位，斐迪南繼任神聖羅馬帝國皇帝，在位期間致力於維護帝國穩定，並調解天主教與新教之間的矛盾，最終促成公元1555年的《奧格斯堡和約》，確立「教隨君定」原則。公元1564年其於維也納逝世。