money, renewal of money, denariuses of the ban, mark, beech-skin tax

Coin with the representation of St Stephen on it 1
Coin with the representation of St Stephen on it 2
Coin with the representation of Salamon on it
Coin with the representation of Coloman on it
Béla IV - Sculpture
Golden Bull - Transcription
Money

In the Middle Ages coins minted from precious metals were considered as money; their value was determined by the actual content of precious metal in them. From the Carolingian age to the middle of the 13th century coins - denariuses of 0.5-1.5 grammes - were made of silver in Europe, including Hungary of the Árpád dynasty. (The minting of gold coins began in the 14th century in Hungary.) Minting money was originally a royal privilage everywhere, and in Hungary it persisted as such. Hungarian kings had been minting money since St Stephen, in changing quality. In the age of the Árpád dynasty in Hungary uncoined silver bars and coins minted abroad were also used as money.

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renewal of money

(Renovatio monetae) means that the king minted new money and put it into circulation at certain intervals. People were ordered to exchange the old coins for new ones, with a 33% extra charge (3 old denariuses were worth 2 new ones). The royal income obtained this way was called "the profit of the chamber" (lucrum camerae). The renewal of money was probably introduced by King Salamon; first at irregular intervals then every two years, then yearly - occasionally even more often.

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the denariuses of the ban

King Béla IV gave the Slavonian ban the right to mint money in 1255. From this time on the bans minted money for a century: silver coins of 0.94 gr were minted first in Pakrác, then in Zagreb in permanent value - which was unique till the 14th century financial reforms. The income lost due to not renewing the currency was substituted by a local tax called "the profit of the chamber", which was 7 denariuses per household.

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mark

A weight measurement, which appeared in Hungary in 1146. It had several versions in Hungary; first the "Hungarian" one (233.8 gr) became wide-spread, then the "Buda" one (245.54 gr). At the division of the mark its one quarter was called ferto, its 1/48th was called pondus.

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beech-skin tax

A royal tax collected in Slavonia and the neighbouring counties over the river Drava (marturina). Originally it was paid in products, then, after Coloman's reform, in money. According to the 1224 data it was 12 denariuses per households. In the beginning everybody had to pay this, the local nobility was exempted from paying it by the 1351 law. From the end of the 12th century kings partly or totally ceded it to local landowners, so it became a landowner's tax as well.

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