These Slavonian denars were the currency of the duke ruling over Slavonia autonomously and bore the characteristic representation of the
Patriarchal cross, with sun and moon and two royal heads on each
side, on the
obverse and a running marten between two stars on the
reverse, with
MONETA REGIS P SCLAVONIA (
moneta regis
pro sclavonia, king's coin for Slavonia) around. During the whole time of their validity (c.1255-1384) they retained these figures. Kingdom of Slavonia was only one of titles of a
king and usually it was term for the whole Croatia. The
area at the time was a Hungarian possession, which was later heavily disputed.
It was a currency coined in silver by the viceroy/civil governor (ban) on behalf of the Hungarian
king (and sometimes coined also by Hungarian dukes) and was denominated officially
denarius banalis or
moneta banalis or simply banalis (banovac in the Croatian language). This silver currency was coined for the first time c.1255 by ban Stephen, from the family Guth-Keled/Guthkeled/Gutkeled. About that time
money was forged only by the Royal Hungarian Chamber which gave that right to
mint for the first time to Stephen, ban of whole Slavonia between 1248-1260. In 1256, ban Stephen established the first
mint of
money in Pakrac (mentioned by the name "camera de Puchruch" in
king Bela IV's registers). In 1260, the
mint was displaced from Pakrac to
Zagreb. In the
mint of
Zagreb the currencies of silver of the Hungarian rulers are coined uninterruptedly from year 1260 to 1384 (as "
denarius zagrabiensis"). This
money was particularly appreciated due the purity of the silver in which he was coined, by the beauty of its engraving as much as by its
quality in general. With this currency it was possible to be bought in all the center of the Europe of that time, because was a convertible currency.
The legends are:
MONETA REGIS P SCLAVONIA (common)
MONETA B REGIS P SCLAVONIA (
moneta Belae regis
pro sclavonia,
scarce)
MONETA DVCIS P SCLAVONIA (
scarce)
MONETA REGIS P VNGARIA (
rare)
Initials on the Arpad Dynasty coins are:
King Bela IV (1235-1270):
o - o
lily - lily
bird - bird
h - R (Ban Henricus Nemetujvari, 1267-1270)
King Stephen V (1270-1272)
S - R (Stephanus
Rex)
R - S (
Rex Stephanus)
King Ladislaus IV (1272-1290)
R - L (
Rex Ladislaus)
L - R (Ladislaus
Rex)
S - L (Ban Stephanus Babonich -
Rex Ladislaus, 1280-1282?)
R - R - L (Ban Radoszlav -
Rex Ladislaus, 1286-1288)
King Andrew III (1290-1301)
R - A (
Rex Andreas)
A - R (Andreas Reax)
S - A (Ban Stephanus Babonich -
Rex Andreas, 1300-1301)
R - bird (
Rex Andreas - Ban Stephanus Babonich, 1300-1301)
A - bird (
Rex Andreas - Ban Stephanus Babonich, 1300-1301)
Best regards,
Jozsef