Is the bottom coin a Huszár 547 or a Huszár 550?
In the
standard Huszár 547, which is a very common
medieval Hungarian coin issued by Louis I in 1373-1382, the Saracen's
head faces left. In the uncommon Huszár 550, the
head faces right. Otherwise, the two coins are the same, although the number of mints that issued the Huszár 550 is limited. Both bear the
obverse legend +
MOnETA LODOVICI and the
reverse legend + REGIS hVnGARIE.
The top coin is a
standard Huszár 547, issued in Buda (left-facing). The bottom coin was also issued in Buda, but is right-facing. What is especially interesting about the bottom coin is that the legends (
obverse and
reverse) run counterclockwise and most of the letters are retrograde.
My initial
attribution of the bottom coin was that it is a variant of Huszár 550, as it is right-facing. However, if the engraver
had erroneously
engraved the
head in retrograde, which would be consistent with the erroneous counterclockwise legends and retrograde letters, it would be a variant of Huszár 547.
Is the distinction merely academic? Any thoughts?
Stkp
