I rarely have the pleasure of rummaging through a large number of unattributed
medieval Hungarian coins. I recently
had the opportunity to sort through several hundred parvii issued by Sigismund/Zsigmund of Luxembourg (
King of
Hungary 1387-1437; Holy
Roman Emperor 1433-1437) between 1387 and 1427 (
per Huszár,
Pohl,
Unger,
Frynas and Gyöngyössy, although it terminated in 1410
per Engel) and acquired seven with privy marks that I did not yet have. They are all Huszár 580,
Pohl 119,
Unger 451, Réthy II 125A,
Frynas H.27.8:
Pohl 119-12,
Unger 451s, with an m to right above
shieldhttps://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161257Pohl 119-14,
Unger 451u, with an o to right above
shield, struck at Offenbánya/Baia de Arieș,
Romania (
per Pohl)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161256Pohl 119-15,
Unger 451v, with a P to right above
shield, struck at Pécs/Baia de Arieș,
Romania (
per Pohl)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161099Pohl 119-49,
Unger 451ξ with a K-K above
shield, struck at Körmöcbánya/Kremnica, Slovakia (
per Pohl)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161100Pohl 119-55,
Unger 451ω, with an m-6 above
shield, struck by Markus von Nuremberg in 1404-1405 (
per Pohl)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161102Pohl 119-62,
Unger 451ff, with a P-W above
shield, struck at Pécs/Baia de Arieș,
Romania (
per Pohl)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161103Pohl 119-76,
Unger 451ππ, with a K between upper cross-arms, struck at Körmöcbánya/Kremnica, Slovakia (
per Pohl)
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161104The
type was issued with over 150 privy marks. After the phase-out of the
sigla generations earlier, none of the
medieval Hungarian emissions bore close to the number of privy or control marks found on the coins of Sigismund/Zsigmund. I have encountered no literature addressing the reason for this explosion of marks and
hope that it is addressed by Josef Kiss in a forthcoming book in
his wonderful series.
In addition to these, I plucked two "gems" from the lot, also parvii issued by Sigismund/Zsigmund but considerably less common:
Huszár 581,
Pohl 120,
Unger 453, Réthy II 125B,
Frynas H.27.9, struck in 1404-1405 (
per Pohl, Huszár,
Unger &
Frynas) in Buda by Markus von Nürnberg, oberkammergraf (
per Pohl). This
type is identical to the
standard parvus except that it bears an m rather than a crown between one of the cross-arms.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161252 Huszár 582,
Pohl 121-1,
Unger 452, Réthy II 126,
Frynas H.27.10, struck in 1402 (
per Huszár,
Unger &
Frynas) or 1402-1403 (
per Pohl) in Buda (
per Pohl). This
type is also identical to the
standard parvus except that it bears a Bohemian
lion instead of a Brandenburg
eagle in the
shield.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-161254While the
standard type is given
rarity ratings of Huszár/Pohl 4;
Unger 5;
Frynas C, these
types are rated as Huszár/Pohl 5;
Unger 15;
Frynas N; and Huszár/Pohl 5;
Unger 15+;
Frynas N, respectively. I already
had two of the Huszár 581
type and one of the Huszár 582
type in my
gallery, but nevertheless grabbed these as well. I am always gratified to recognize and find hidden "gems" in a large lot.
Stkp/Steve