Survey of the 11th Century Use of Christian Saints’ Names and Images on European Coins
Abstract
Prior work has catalogued the earliest appearances of Christian Saints on coins, but starting in the 11th century, the minting of local coinage became both more common and more prolific across multiple regions. The study goal was to identify and categorize the use of Christian saint’s names and images on European coins minted in the 11th century. In total, 20 numismatic books representing 16 geographic regions were analysed and the appearance of saints, either in the inscription or as a portrait, was noted. Nearly 350 coin types mentioning 34 different saints were identified as dating to between the years AD 1000 and AD 1100. Mints in several regions were represented, including parts of Germany, Bohemia/Poland, the Low Countries, France, Italy, Spain, Byzantium, Denmark, the Crusader States, and Switzerland, with the most prolific regions being Germany and Bohemia.
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