Obj. ID: 35383
Sacred and Ritual Objects Coin of Stephen V, Hungary, circa 1270
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
On his return from the Holy Land in the 13th century, King Endre II found an empty treasury. To replenish it quickly he introduced an emergency war-tax. He had new coinage minted and exchanged several times a year and set up several new mints: at Buda, in the diocese of Csanad, in the Szeremseg and in Slavonia. He leased these out individually. Thus Jewish traders came to head the mints as tenant managers, which probably explains the appearance of Hebrew letter among the coinage minted during the 13th century.
The letters probably represent the names of the minters: Aleph -- Altman Chet -- Chenokh Tet -- Theka Peh -- Fredman Shin -- Samuel
There is more of a consensus over the significance of the Hebrew letters as they seem to correspond to the names of Jewish "ispans" of the treasury known from documents. The letters were used to distinguish coins made during the office of these men. The Hebrew letters, then, are best explained as initials or identifying marks linked to these "ispans".
This example carries on one side the image of a dragon and on both sides the letter "Peh". . The coin is from the reign of Stephen V, circa 1270, Minted by Count Friedman.