John Dekker (dekker) wrote, @ 2007-03-30 15:14:00

1520: Year of Three Treatises
Although numismatics is one of my principal hobbies, I rarely blog on the subject. But I have some lovely coins in my collection, such as this one:




This is a Groschen from the city of Schweidnitz, and is dated 1520. That makes it special, for two reasons. Firstly, it is my earliest dated coin. It seems that the earliest European coin with a date is from 1166, but in England the dated coins were first struck in 1551.

In the second place, 1520 was a significant year in church history, and Protestant theology in particular. Pope Leo X wrote the papal bull Exsurge Domine against Martin Luther, while Luther penned three treatises: To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Prelude on the Babylonish Captivity of the Church and On the Freedom of a Christian.

Of course, I don't know if Luther ever visited Schweidnitz. I doubt he ever handled this particular coin. But collecting coins such as this one can provide a fascinating link with history.

	(Anonymous) 2007-03-30 22:02 (link)
	Wow! That is fascinating and it is a very good looking coin. The emblems are beautiful, do you know what they symbolise? How amazing that the coin is so old. Where did you get it from? Did you know the history when you acuired the coin? missmellifluous (Reply to this) (Thread)

	(Anonymous) 2007-03-30 22:03 (link)
	here is the q that is missing from above. missican'ttypemellifluous (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dekker 2007-03-30 22:20 (link)

I didn't even pick the missing q! The crowned eagle would be a symbol of the city - eagles are very popular in the German states. The symbolise nobility, I guess. I get these sort of coins from coin dealers - usually via a postal auction. And yes, I knew that 1520 would put it at the earlier end of dated coins. I have a number of Roman coins (see here, for example), and often they indicate the year of the emperor's reign, but dating according to a fixed calendar came much later. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	touching antiquity (Anonymous) 2007-03-31 18:47 (link)
	To transend time just a trifle fingering a tangible piece of stamped metal. My mind runs with heightened excitement when I juxtapose the feel of an object and thoughts of antiquity. Ownership comes into it too somehow. Different from things in a museum. ish (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: touching antiquity dekker 2007-03-31 22:17 (link)
	An excellent point put in an excellent way! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)