Schinderling
Encyclopedia
Schinderling was a popular name for the pfennig
s with a sharply decreased content of fine silver from the time around 1457 to 1460, which were in circulation mostly in the region of Inner Austria
.
and the master of his mint in Graz
, Balthasar Eggenberger
. As an independent entrepreneur, Balthasar was doing business at his own risk and his profit margin was based on the ratio of the value of the actual silver content of the coins against their value as currency. When the emperor increased the fees for the minting lease or raised taxes to pay debts, merchants had to pass that cost on by increasing prices or, as in the mint master's case, decreasing the actual amount of silver in the coinage thereby lowering the production cost of the coins against their value as currency. According to Austrian chronicler and contemporary of Balthasar's: "The emperor allowed bad coins to be minted; these coins were named Schinderlings. Anyone with lots of old copper kettles could mint better. He allowed such coins to be minted...by a citizen in Graz named Eggenberg, who had the lease on the minting operations in Graz and in St. Veit in Carinthia
.
According to another chronicle from the period, Balthasar became quite wealthy and influential through these activities until the emperor was forced to act in the spring of 1460. He issued an arrest warrant for Balthasar, who received word of the order and fled to Venice
with what was a vast sum in gold, silver and jewels of about £40000. By July of that year Balthasar and the emperor had come to some sort of arrangement, the details of which have been lost. Through this arrangement Balthasar was to pay the emperor an unknown sum in exchange for renewal of the minting lease under the stipulation that the minted coins could not have less than a specified amount of silver and amnesty to return to his lands in Graz.
This shortage of money for the payment of the mercenaries linked with the disputes between Balthasar and Emperor Frederick III created a financial crisis. The Schinderlingszeit (Schinderling era) was one of the first cases of open inflation in the German linguistic area shortly before the beginning of modern times
. As a result of this the emperor also issued a decree in 1460 fixing wages and prices based on the value of better coins to be minted under the new agreement between the emperor and Balthasar.
Pfennig
The Pfennig , plural Pfennige, is an old German coin or note, which existed from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002....
s with a sharply decreased content of fine silver from the time around 1457 to 1460, which were in circulation mostly in the region of Inner Austria
Inner Austria
Inner Austria was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and the Windic March, the County of Gorizia , the city of Trieste and assorted smaller possessions...
.
History
The cause of the decrease in silver content were the probate disputes between Emperor Frederick IIIFrederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
and the master of his mint in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Balthasar Eggenberger
Balthasar Eggenberger
Balthasar Eggenberger , was an Austrian entrepreneur in the early days of mercantilism. He was master of the imperial mint at Graz in the Duchy of Styria and financier to Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor...
. As an independent entrepreneur, Balthasar was doing business at his own risk and his profit margin was based on the ratio of the value of the actual silver content of the coins against their value as currency. When the emperor increased the fees for the minting lease or raised taxes to pay debts, merchants had to pass that cost on by increasing prices or, as in the mint master's case, decreasing the actual amount of silver in the coinage thereby lowering the production cost of the coins against their value as currency. According to Austrian chronicler and contemporary of Balthasar's: "The emperor allowed bad coins to be minted; these coins were named Schinderlings. Anyone with lots of old copper kettles could mint better. He allowed such coins to be minted...by a citizen in Graz named Eggenberg, who had the lease on the minting operations in Graz and in St. Veit in Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
.
According to another chronicle from the period, Balthasar became quite wealthy and influential through these activities until the emperor was forced to act in the spring of 1460. He issued an arrest warrant for Balthasar, who received word of the order and fled to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
with what was a vast sum in gold, silver and jewels of about £40000. By July of that year Balthasar and the emperor had come to some sort of arrangement, the details of which have been lost. Through this arrangement Balthasar was to pay the emperor an unknown sum in exchange for renewal of the minting lease under the stipulation that the minted coins could not have less than a specified amount of silver and amnesty to return to his lands in Graz.
This shortage of money for the payment of the mercenaries linked with the disputes between Balthasar and Emperor Frederick III created a financial crisis. The Schinderlingszeit (Schinderling era) was one of the first cases of open inflation in the German linguistic area shortly before the beginning of modern times
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
. As a result of this the emperor also issued a decree in 1460 fixing wages and prices based on the value of better coins to be minted under the new agreement between the emperor and Balthasar.
Sources
- Heinz Fengler und Autoren "transpress Lexikon Numismatik" VEB Verlag für Verkehrswesen, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-344-00220-1