| Popis: |
Twenty-two coins were found in the area of the motte-and-bailey castle in Lubrza; 13 of them are discussed in this article (the remaining are German emissions from the twentieth century along with an early Modern Era German dish pfennig). Twelve coins are from the Middle Ages (1–12); and specimen #13 is a copper disc without any trace of stamping. The numismatic material from the knight seat in Lubrza implies profound influence of the Brandenburg coinage from the Ascanian dynasty (expired in 1319) on the northern parts of Silesia. To the same category of emissions belong Anhalt and Saxon-Wittenberg denars (#8–9), including March of Brandenburg forged denar, most likely minted in the County/Duchy of Anhalt or the Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg (#9). Interest is aroused by the regularly cut Prague groschen (#10), a very rare find of this type. Also, Teutonic coins appear rarely this far west (#11). However, the lack of a Silesian coin is intriguing. Specimen #12, suspected to be of Silesian origin, is probably a Neumark (New March) denar (Vinkenauge). The lack of domestic coins seems rather accidental; however, all finds in Lubrza are probably chance losses. The noticeably large amount of the Brandenburg coinage results from the Lubrza motte-and-bailey castle location close to the border. Substantial minting activity in the Ascanian period and the short-term affiliation of Lubrza to the March of Brandenburg in the first quarter of the 14th century also played a considerable role. In the present-day territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, no large bracteates (45 mm in diameter) have been minted, therefore, a fragment of a lid of a copper alloy box intended for storing small amounts of this kind of money is quite sensational. The box lid from Lubrza, probably made in the second half of the 13th century, is most likely of Meissen origin. |
