Prague groschen

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Groschen of Venceslas II., obverse

Groschen of Venceslas II., reverse

The Prague groschen (Czech: pražský groš, Latin: grossi pragenses, German: Prager Groschen, Polish: Grosz praski) was a groschen-type silver coin that became very common throughout the Medieval Central Europe.

1 Coin
2 History
3 Etymology
4 External links

[edit] Coin

It is a silver coin with obverse sign DEI GRATIA REX BOEMIE (English: By the grace of God the king of Bohemia) and on the verso GROSSI PRAGENSIS (Czech: Pražský groš, English: Prague groschen). Weight of the coin related between 3,5 and 3,7 g with fineness 933/1000 of silver.

Sub-division were twelve coins called parvus (English: small) with bohemian heraldic lion sign on the obverse.

[edit] History

Minting of this coin started around 1300 after silver mines had been discovered in Hory Kutné during the reign of the Bohemian king Wenceslaus II. King Wenceslaus II. invited italian lawyer Gozzius of Orvieto who created mining code Ius regale montanorum whose part was also a coin reform. This and high amount of silver found in Kutná hora resulted in the implementation of Prague groschen. Because of high amount of silver used in the coin it became one of the most popular of the early Groschen-type coins in the medieval Europe.

In documents of the era, like the Peace of Thorn (1411), large amounts of money often were given in more convenient Latin: sexagena of Prague groschen, which equals to Czech: kopa = 5 dozen = 1/2 small gross = 60.

After the opening of new silver mines in Jáchymov (Joachimsthal) the Thaler, in the Bohemia known as tolar, came in use. In 1547 minting of Prague groschen was discontinued by Ferdinand I.

[edit] Etymology

The inspiration came from France where groschen were used since 1266 and replaced old coin called denar. The name came from the latin denarius grossus (English: thick denar).