Mintmaster marks (German: ''Münzmeisterzeichen'', abbreviation ''Mmz.'') are often the initials of the mintmaster of a

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...

or small symbols (cross, star, coat of arms, heraldic device, etc.) for example at the size of the letters on a coin inscription to denote the

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s made under his direction. With his mark, the mintmaster assumed responsibility for ensuing the coins issued by his mint were in accordance with the regulations. Mintmaster marks were used as early as the time of bracteate coinage in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, but these can only rarely be deciphered. All mintmaster marks since the beginning of the minting of ''

Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...

s'' have been identified. The picture on the right shows the mintmaster's mark, an acorn on a stem, of the

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

mintmaster, Constantin Rothe, on a '' Reichstaler'' issued under Duke

John George II of Saxony Johann George II (31 May 1613 – 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Biography He was the third (fourth in order of birth) but eldest surviving son of the Elector ...

from the year 1662.

Variants

Sometimes there are pictographs and letters on a coin. In this case, the pictorial symbol is usually found in the circumscription of the coin and the letters are divided in the field on both sides of the coin's crest. Mintmasters often used their coats of arms as mintmaster symbols. For example in the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

: * ''Constantin Rothe'', mintmaster from 1640 to 1678 in

, put the letters C-R on his coins and also the acorn on a stem from his family coat of arms. * ''Andreas Alnpeck'', the last mintmaster of the Freiberg Mint, used a six-pointed star from 1546 to 1555 and from 1554 to 1555 also the eagle's head from his coat of arms as the mintmaster's mark. * ''Ernst Peter Hecht'', mintmaster 1693–1714 in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, used the letters E P H as the mintmaster's mark and also the pike from his coat of arms. In Brandenburg: * ''Paul Mühlrad'', mintmaster 1538-1542 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

put a mill wheel on his coinage. In Mecklenburg: * ''Johann Hund'' (1512–1526) used a dog as his

canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial allus ...

and subsidiary image in the corners of the cross on the Rostock ''

schilling Schilling may refer to: * Schilling (unit), an historical unit of measurement * Schilling (coin), the historical European coin * Austrian schilling, the former currency of Austria * A. Schilling & Company, an historical West Coast spice firm acquir ...

s''. In Florence: * Alongside the marks of issue, mintmasters also set their coats of arms on Florentine gold coins.

Introduction and demise of mintmaster marks

Mintmaster marks appear from the late Middle Ages. They were largely superseded in the second half of the 19th century by mint marks in the form of a letter to designate the

. France (

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Mint) first replaced mintmaster marks with mint marks to designate the mint as early as the 16th century. The Berlin Mint has used the A mint mark since the middle of the 18th century.

Mintmaster mark, mint mark, signature

Friedrich Christian, Taler 1763, Leipzig, CNG

Hessen-Kassel, Weidenbaumtaler 1628, CNG

Occasionally, the signature of the coin engraver or just the artist's signature is also found on coins. For example, on the ''Speciesthaler'' of 1763 is the Mmz. I F ô F of the mintmaster, Johann Friedrich ô Feral of the Leipzig Mint, and on the arm section the Signum S of medallist Johann Friedrich Stieler. The mintmaster mark should therefore not be confused with the coin signature (''Signum''). There is also a risk of confusion with mint marks used to designate the mint if the mintmaster mark consists of only one letter. Karl Theodor von der Pfalz, Rheingolddukaten 1763, CNG

Karl Theodor von der Pfalz, Rheingolddukaten 1763, CNG

It is also possible for the mintmaster's mark and artist's signature of the

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

or die cutter to be identical on a coin. For example, in the case of Palatinate coins with the mark "A S". This is the artist's signature and at the same time the mintmaster's mark of the Palatinate court medallist, coin die cutter and mint master, Anton Schäffer. As an example, see the illustration of the '' Flussgoldducat'' by Karl Theodor von der Pfalz from the year 1763. Gulio, Kirchenstaat, Papst Julius II

A special feature is the use of a banker's mark as a mintmaster mark on a

Giulio Giulio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), Italian cardinal and statesman * Giulio Alenio (1582–1649), Italian Jesuit missionary and scholar * Giulio Alfieri (1924–2002), Italian ...

of the Papal States of Pope Julius II On the reverse side between the two saints St. Peter and St. Paul is the trident-shaped banker's mark of the Fugger family from Augsburg, who had financed Julius II's papal election with loans. The trident on the Giulio testifies to the Fugger's lending for the papal election. It was not uncommon for coins to be minted without dates and without the minting authority or the even country being specified. Known mintmaster marks can allow identification of undated coins of unknown origin.

References

Literature

* Heinz Fengler, Gerd Gierow, Willy Unger: ''transpress Lexikon Numismatik'', Berlin 1976 * Paul Arnold, Harald Küthmann, Dirk Steinhilber: ''Großer Deutscher Münzkatalog von 1800 bis heute'', Augsburg 2010 * Julius Erbstein, Albert Erbstein: ''Erörterungen auf dem Gebiete der sächsischen Münz- und Medaillen-Geschichte bei Verzeichnung der Hofrath Engelhardt’schen Sammlung'', Dresden 1888 * Walther Haupt: ''Sächsische Münzkunde.'' Berlin 1974 * Lienhard Buck: ''Die Münzen des Kurfürstentums Sachsen 1763 bis 1806'', Berlin 1981 * Wolfgang Steguweit: ''Geschichte der Münzstätte Gotha'', Weimar 1987 * Gerhard Krug: ''Die meißnisch sächsischen Groschen 1338–1500'', Berlin 1974 * N. Douglas Nicol: ''Standard Catalog of German Coins 1601 to Present'', 1995 * L. Krause, Clifford Mishler: ''1991 standard catalog of WORLD COINS 1801–1990''
Friedrich von Schrötter, N. Bauer, K. Regling, A. Suhle, R. Vasmer, J. Wilcke: ''Wörterbuch der Münzkunde'', Berlin 1970 (reprint of original 1930 edn.)

Lotar Koppe: ''Die sächsisch-ernestinischen Münzen 1551 bis 1573'', Regenstauf 2004

External links