ABSTRACT:

Among the cross pennies of later types, contained in the hoard from Słuszków near Kalisz and dated to after 1105, there are 73 obols — coins worth half a penny. The coins from the Słuszków hoard are dated to the period from the second half of the 11th century to the beginning of the 12th century. The assemblage is dominated by specimens with the image of a beaded cross and individual coins featuring a simple cross, a crosier as well as a crosier, a ring and a banner — types V, VI, VII and VIII according to M. Gumowski’s typology. Most probably, all the obols were struck by bishop’s mints in the archdiocese of Magdeburg.

SUMMARY:

In the early Middle Ages, the smallest denomination of coins used across Latin Europe was the obol. The most frequent finds of the coin, dated to the second half of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century come mainly from Germany, Bohemia and Hungary. The high silver content of the pennies at the time necessitated the production of smaller denominations, used for concluding small trade transactions, particularly in the countries where the coins’ origin. In the Polish lands small transactions involved predominantly fragments of coins, which constituted the dominant part of the hoard material from the times of Mieszko I and Boleslaus I the Brave. The debasement of pennies throughout the 11th century resulted in both obols and coin fragments disappearing from hoards. Almost of all of the late cross pennies CNP 813 and 867–869 from the Słuszków hoard, dated to the end of the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th century were not divided. The coins produced for the longest period of time (until the beginning of the 12th century) discovered in the Polish lands were cross obols. The largest collection of the coins comes from the hoard discovered in Słuszków near Kalisz and dated to after 1105. The assemblage contains 13061 coins, mainly early variants of cross pennies from the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century.

Due to the lack of some types of cross obols in the most complete classification of the cross coins in Marian Gumowski’s Corpus Nummorum Poloniae, the typology based on the obols from the Słuszków hoard is presented.

The earliest variant, SoV-1, similar to CNP 674, has on its obverse the older version of the beaded cross (beads along the quadrangle). In all certainty, it is dated to before the half of the 11th century. Chronologically, the second type of obol in the Słuszków assemblage is the SoV-2 variant, not recorded in CNP. The artefact relates to a group of cross pennies from the so-called transitional group with a beaded cross, where some signs were arranged along the quadrangle and some along a circle. It may be dated to the half of the 11th century. The next five variants of cross obols, SoV-3 — SoV-7, are similar to CNP 677, their margins are wide enough for the legend to be legible. The obverse features the younger beaded cross, most often with 12 beads. The coins were minted in the third quarter of the 11th century. The next group of obols comprises variants SoV-8 — Sov-16, characterised by relatively narrow margins, which translates into only partial legibility of the characters. On the obverse there is the younger beaded cross. The obols may be dated back to the turn of the 4th quarter of the 11th century. The youngest group of cross obols from Słuszków are coins classified as variants SoV-17 — SoV-21. On the obverse they have a beaded cross with eight or nine beads. They may be dated to the last quarter of the 11th century. There are two more obols that may be identified as cross obols with beaded crosses, classified as variants SoVA-1 and SoVA-2. The specimens feature a beaded cross whose two arms are represented as prolonged triangles, similarly to the crossing of the crosier on the younger variants of type VII cross obols. In all probability, the coins may be dated to the turn of the 4th quarter of the 11th century. In the Słuszków hoard, the type VI cross obols with the simple cross are represented by one specimen of the SoVI-1 variant (CNP 876), dated probably to the last two decades of the 11th century.

The Słuszków hoard contains only one type VII obol — SoVII-1. The coin shows a short, crossed crosier, to the left, with a narrow crook, ending with a large dot. The coin may be dated to the last quarter of the 11th century. The last and probably the youngest group of obols comprises type VIII specimens of the SoVIII-1 type (CNP 1029). Obols of this type are known mostly from the Polabian region and can be dated to the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century. In all certainty, all the cross obols from the Słuszków hoard were struck in Saxony, in mints of Magdeburg, Halle-Giebichenstein, Merseburg, Naumburg and perhaps Meissen, a fact confirmed by the artefacts discovered in Polabia. The large number of the coins known from Greater Poland — the region of Poland lying closest to Magdeburg, testifies to the Saxon origin of the cross obols from the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century.

ABSTRACT:

The text discusses medieval and modern sepulchral finds of coins from Eastern Europe, conventionally referred to as the “obol of the dead”. For the first time the phenomenon was observed in 8th century graves of nomads in the Khazar Khaganate. In the 9th and 10th century, Arab dirhams and Byzantine miliarenses appear in graves in the areas of the Scandinavian expansion, mainly in the basin of the upper Volga and the Dnieper. In the 11th century the custom of equipping the dead with coins becomes common and it is mainly West European pennies that are used for the purpose. In the 12th and 13th century, the practice becomes virtually obsolete to experience a revival in the 15th century. In modern times the observance of the custom reaches its peak in the 17th century and remains to be recorded in ethnographic sources until today.

SUMMARY:

The text presents the custom of equipping the dead with coins, followed in medieval and modern Eastern Europe.

In this area coins appear for the first time in richly equipped graves of nomads, dated to the 8th century, along the lower course of the Don and Volga rivers in the Khazar Khaganate. They are predominantly gold issues — Byzantine solidi and gold-plated dirhams, placed in the mouth of the dead.

In the 9th and 10th centuries coins and their fragments, which can be referred to as “the obol of the dead”, occur in the barrow mounds in the north-west areas of ancient Rus’, on the east and south coast of Ladoga Lake, in the interfluve of the Volga and the Oka as well as in sites located along the upper and middle course of the Dnieper, particularly in the Czernichow Land. In the second part of the 10th and 11th century the custom becomes widespread, and most of the finds come from inhumation burial. Apart from those areas, coins appear in graveyards located along the upper course of the Volga River, in the areas of Lake Peipus and Lake Ilmen as well as in the basin of the Dnieper and further down to Kiev. Characteristically enough, all the sites are located in the area of the Scandinavian expansion and colonisation.

The predominant types of coins found in graves dated to the 10th century are Arab dirhams as well as Byzantine folles, miliarenses and solidi. It should also be noted that graves with pendant-coins become more frequent. At the end of the 10th century there is an observable decrease in the inflow of Arab gold into the Baltic region. At the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century, coins from Western Europe appear and dominate the entire next century. They are usually German issues, but also English and, to a smaller extent, Bohemian and Hungarian coins. Interestingly enough, the number of coins left in the form of “the obol of the dead” is much higher than that of pendant-coins. Sometimes the local, Rus’ coins occur, although rather infrequently.

In the 12th and 13th century the custom of equipping the dead with coins disappears completely from the forest zone of Eastern Europe, which is caused by the cessation of the inflow of Western European coins into Novgorod Rus’ and predominantly, by the evolution of burial practices, manifesting itself in abandoning the custom of equipping the dead. In the 13th and 14th century, after the Mongol invasions, coins reappear in the graves of the nomads of the Golden Horde, who bring the custom from the grasslands of Central Asia. The finds are dominated by Golden Horde issues.

In the 14th century, coins are occasionally used in the burials of Lithuanian and Slavic population in the Polish-Rus’ and Lithuanian-Rus’ border areas (today’s Eastern Poland and Grodno Region). In the latter case, the finds of coins are particularly frequent in graves from the 15th century. Similarly to the 11th century Rus’ this is an area of intensive Christianisation and transformations of burial practices. Outside the Grodno Region, the coins appear frequently in graves across Lithuania, Samogitia, Semigallia, Latgale, Livonia and Courland. In the 16th century, coins start to appear in graves of newly Christianised Finno-Ugric peoples of Mari, Mordva and Udmurt. They appear both as the “obols of the dead” and pendants in lavishly decorated necklaces and hats.

The culmination of the practice of equipping the death with coins falls on the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The areas of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and of the Grand Duchy of Moscow are dominated by local issues, mostly small coins of low nominal value.

In archaeological sources, there is a rapid decrease in the number of sepulchral finds of coins in graves from the second half of the 18th century. We know of only one burial with coins from the 19th century. Similarly, coins were discovered only in one 20th-century grave, which does not, however, signify that the practice of equipping the dead disappeared — it only reflects the current state of examination of contemporary archaeological sites. Ethnographic sources frequently record the tradition of equipping the death and confirm the presence of such practices in the areas of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.