Counetfeit coins from the Serednye castle

  • Igor Prokhnenko State University "UzhNU" 
  • M. Zhilenko State University "UzhNU"
Keywords: Sredneansky castle, archeology of Transcarpathia, fake coins, forging money

Abstract

In the Western part of the village Sredniy in Uzhgorod district, in the Transcarpathian region, the ruins of the castle are located in the plains near the river Velya (formerly the Old Town). Today, the most respected building for its buildings (18.6 x 16.5 m), which is located in the central part of the architectural ensemble. It is surrounded by a locked patio with limited stone walls. The fortification system, in terms close to the square form, is represented by two lines of noticeably shoved shafts and ditches. In some places, the modern height of the shafts reaches 3.5 m. The external shaft defines the area of the monument – 200 x 200 m. The artificial water circulation system (the pipe of the set and drainage), which flowed from the river to the ditch on  the western side and flowed out of them into The direction of the mill from the east is now already destroyed, resulting in a large part of the ditches being swamped. The archaeological expedition of the Uzhhorod National University was studied in 2008 and 2017. In the first field season, in order to find out the stratigraphic situation and proceeding from the possible excavation of the area, the study began with the territory of the castle court. The excavation #I (22 x 4 m) cut it from the southern corner of the central building to the ditch. The power of the cultural layer, which consisted of layers of clay of different colors, from gray to black (in the basis), reached 2.8 m. The erection of stone walls in the XVI century. It was stratigraphically confirmed by the discovery of the false Hungarian coin of 1543 Ferdinand I. (1526-1564). The next period (XVIIth – the beginning of the XVIIIth century) was determined by the quantitative increase in the collection of material (ceramic crockery, tiles and metal products). A relatively large percentage of counterfeit coins is not unique to these territories. It characterizes the specifics of the regional monetary circulation of the late Middle Ages and early modern times. Also it notes the active work of local counterfeiters whose work left traces in archaeological materials and in written sources. Found during the excavation of the castle counterfeit coins correspond to the chronological range of the operation of the monument, as well as reflect the activities of the falsifiers of the Upper Hungary, in whose products most massively present counterfeit silicon products. A small number of finds does not allow us to draw conclusions about the main periods of activation of the "thieves in the coin", but three of the four coins refer to the times of Ferdinand I, in Hungarian historiography called "the golden age of Hungarian counterfeiters." Specificization of the information on the quantitative and qualitative composition of false denominations in the Central lock is possible only after a systematic study of significant sites in different parts of the monument and replenishment of this group of finds with new instances.

Author Biographies

Igor Prokhnenko, State University "UzhNU" 

Dr. Igor Prokhnenko, Associate Professor of the Department the history of the ancient world and the Middle Ages Faculty of History and International Relations State University "UzhNU" 

M. Zhilenko, State University "UzhNU"

M. Zhilenko, lecturer-guide Archaeological Museum named after. prof. Balaguri E.A., State University "UzhNU"

References

1. Blazovich, L., Schmidt, J. (2001) Buda város jogkönyve II [Buda City Legislation II], Szeged, Szegedi középkorász műhely, 640 [in Hungarian].
2. Engel, P. (1998) A nemesi társadalom a középkori Ung megyében [The noble society in the medieval Ung county], Budapest, МТА Történettudományi intézet. [in Hungarian]
3. Gyöngyössy, M. (2015) Szapolyai János pénzverése (1527-1540) [János Szapolyai coin (1527-1540)], Századok, 149, 4, 959-974. [in Hungarian].
4. Gyöngyössy, M. (2016) Középkori és kora újkori hamispénzverés Nyugat-Magyarországon [Medieval and early modern hamper in Western Hungary], Az Érem, LXXII, 30-34 [in Hungarian].
5. Huszár, L. (1969) Magyar várak mint pénzhamisító műhelyek a XVI. Században [Hungarian castles as counterfeiting workshops in the XVI. century], Műemlékvédelem, 13, 80-87. [in Hungarian].
6. Huszár, L. (1979) Münzkatalog Ungarn von 1000 bis Heute [Coin Catalog of Hungary from 1000 up today], Münhen [in German].
7. Kahler, F. (1972) Pénzhamisítás Magyarországon a XVI. században [Falsification in Hungary in the XVI. century], A Magyar Numizmatikai Társulat Évkönyve, 1971. 86-90, Budapest. [in Hungarian].
8. Kahler, F. (1981-1982) Középkori pénzhamisításunk kérdéséhez (3 rész) [The question of our medieval counterfeiting (3 parts)], Numizmatikai közlöny, 80-81, 79-83. [in Hungarian].
9. Kahler, F. (1983) A pénzhamisítás bűncselekményének alakulása Magyarországon [The evolution of the crime of counterfeiting in Hungary] Jogtörténeti tanulmányok, V, 97-113, Szerk. Csizmadia Andor, Budapest [in Hungarian].
10. Komáromy, A. (1893) Egy hamis pénzverő a XVI. században [A false coat of arms from the XVI century], 647-667, Századok. [in Hungarian].
11. Kopicki, E. (1976) Katalog podstawowych typów monet i banknotów Polski oraz ziem z Polska zwiazanych [Catalog of the basic types of coins and banknotes of Poland and the lands related]. T. II, Warszawa. [in Polish].
12. Tóth, D. (2015) A pénzhamisítás joghistóriája [The legal history of counterfeiting], Interdiszciplináris Doktorandusz Konferencia konferenciakötete, 41-58, Pécs. [in Hungarian]
13. Unger, E. (1980) Magyar éremhatározó [Hungarian medalist]. Budapest. [in Hungarian].
14. Székely, V. Gy. (1998) 16 századi éremlelet Pálmonostoráról [16th century medal on the Pálmonostor] Cumania,15, 5-92, Kecskemét. [in Hungarian].
15. Bojko-Gagarin, A. S. (2017) Fal'shivomonetnichestvo v Central'noj i Vostochnoj Evrope v epohu Srednevekov'ja i rannego Novogo vremeni [Coin counterfeiting in Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle ages and early Modern time]. Kiev: Ukrainskaja konfederacіja zhurnalistov. [in Russian].
Published
2017-12-21
How to Cite
Prokhnenko, I., & Zhilenko, M. (2017). Counetfeit coins from the Serednye castle. The Ukrainian Numismatic Annual, (1), 86-97. https://doi.org/10.31470/2616-6275-2017-1-86-97