Copy of `Austrian Mint - Money terms`

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Austrian Mint - Money terms Category: Economy and Finance > Money Date & country: 27/01/2008, Austria Words: 133

Emergency money
State or private token money issued in times of emergency, both as coins made of metal or porcelain and in the form of notes made of paper, cardboard, leather, linen, and silk. German emergency coins had a face value of up to a billion marks during the period of inflation (also known as 'siege' or 'obsidional' money.

Ducat
Since 1284 gold coin in Venice, remained unchanged until 1794. The word derives from the Venetian doge, originally from Latin dux (leader). Later, other countries minted ducats as well. Ducats were first struck in Austria in the early sixteenth century. Restrikes of original ducats and the four-ducat with the portrait of Emperor Francis Joseph I ar …

Dollar
US currency, a name derivation from thaler.

Denticles
Coin rim which is higher than the coin relief, protecting the relief from wear when the coins are handled, e.g. when they are stacked.

Dime
10-cent piece in the US currency.

Denomination
The face value of a coin, for example € 1.- or € 2.-. Bullion and collectors´ coins can have an actual value far exceeding the denomination, such as the Vienna Philharmonic gold coin, with the face value of € 100.- (1 ounce of gold).

Denarius
Roman silver coin, post-210 BC. Origin of the dinar, Arabian gold coin of the Middle Ages, and the Yugoslavian coin of today.

Cut coins
On the one hand, in antiquity coins were halved when hard cash ran short; on the other hand, discredited coins were made invalid by cutting them in halves.

Currency
The legally specified monetary system of a country. The German word is 'Währung', etymologically linked to 'Gewähr', guarantee. The term therefore originally alludes as well to the guarantee of fineness, fine weight and value of a coin.

Crown
English silver coin

Croesus
Greek Kroisos (ca. 560-546 BC), last king of Lydia. Acquired immense wealth from the tribute of subject peoples and mineral resources. Therefore we use the name Croesus today for someone who is rich and likes to show it.

Coverage
Also called backing. The basis of a currency. Money - this includes paper money - ought to be 'backed' by a sufficient amount of precious metal and/or foreign exchange.

Counter
Not a tangible coin, but a calculation unit. It was used as a monetary substitute in earlier times when there were not enough large coins in circulation. Counting was often done in foreign or obsolete currency.

Convention thaler
The fineness of the Convention thaler was specified by the Austro-German Monetary Convention of January 1857. Thirty Convention thalers were struck from 500 g refined silver; these counted as 30 thalers in North Germany and as 45 guilders in Austria.

Cologne mark
The Reichsmünzordnung (= Imperial Monetary Decree) of 1524 specified a standard coin weight for the Cologne mark. At the time, 8 thalers made one standard Cologne mark, with a silver content of 233.856 g.

Commemorative coins
Special strikes, issued for a certain occasion or as a series. Not intended for use as payment.

Coinage laws
Laws which regulate the entire coinage system - ranging from coin sorts (with denominational or face value) to the exchange of worn-out coins.

Coin value
The value of a collector´s coin depends above all on the numbers still available (rarity), and, furthermore, the condition, if old coins are concerned (value specifications in catalogues are guidelines for sales prices). The value of bullion coins, such as the Vienna Philharmonic gold coin, is determined on the daily price of gold or precious metal …

Coin exchange
Usually in connection with coin exhibitions. At a coin exchange, coins are sold and exchanged. The Austrian Mint is regularly represented at the major European coin exchanges.

Coin
Struck metallic money bearing the stamp of the country that guarantees its weight, standard of fineness and value. Today´s coins show the denomination, or face value (value specification = e.g. 1 ), and also a symbol of the respective country and the year they were struck.

Cleaning
Cleaning coins should be done with the greatest care, so as to avoid damage. Simple dirt can be best removed by a soak in soapy water. Silver and copper can be cleaned with alcohol or spirit. Drying should be done gently and only with cotton wool. Valuable ancient coins, coins graded as 'brilliant uncirculated (BU)' or proof coins should be conserv …

Circulation coinage
All coins 'in daily use' as legal tender at the legally specified value. The material value is now always lower than the face value of the coin. The German expression Scheidemünze is supposed to derive from the fact that, thanks to the coin, buyer and seller are able to 'part' (scheiden) from each other without any residual debt. In Austrian curren …

Cent
From Latin centum = hundred; smallest European and American coin = a hundredth of a euro or dollar. Monetary units deriving from centum in other countries (until 2001): centavo (Portugal), centime (France), centimo (Spain).

Celtic coins
Celtic coins first appeared from the second century BC onwards as imitations of Greek coins. They were either struck or cast.

Bullion coin
Precious metal coin of high fineness, which is traded at gold value (silver value etc.). Bullion coins weigh an ounce or part of an ounce. The bullion coin most in demand in Austria is the Vienna Philharmonic coin made of pure gold ('Wiener Philharmoniker').

Bronze
Coin metal since ancient times. Usual alloyage: 97% copper - 3% tin and zinc

Brilliant uncirculated (BU)
Original mintage quality achieved by the first strike with a new die. (The shine on the fresh die also gives rise to the brilliant shine of the coins = fleur de coin).

Blank
The round disk of metal before it is struck as a coin.

Batz
Swiss and also South German coin introduced in the fifteenth century - 'batz' comes from 'Bätz' or 'Petz' - bruin: the bear of Bern was depicted on the first coins. Student song: 'Ein Heller und ein Batzen, die waren beide mein ...' (A heller [= penny] and a batz, they were once both mine ...)

Barter
Barter, or exchange of goods was customary before coinage was introduced, especially in times of emergency, such as was the case in Austria after the Second World War.

Ancient Coins
All Greek and Roman coins up to ca. 476 AD. Celtic and Persian coins are also counted as such.

Aluminium
Light metal with chemical symbol Al. Also coin metal since the end of the First World War.

Alloy
The precisely specified miscing of several metals during the melting process. The metallic properties of a coin - for instance the degree of wear - depend mainly on the alloy.