PENNING: COIN OF BRABANT (SPANISH NETHERLANDS)
2 penning, 1606: Duchy of Brabant (Spanish Netherlands)
Ruler: Albert VII — Archduke of Austria and, jointly with his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1598 and 1621.
ALBERTVS ET ELISABET D G /Dei Gratia/: legend in Latin — Albert and Elizabeth (Albrecht and Isabella) by the grace of God.
Monogram of co-rulers (combined letters "AE" under the crown — Latin "Albertus et Elizabeth").
ARCHID AVS DVC BVRG ET BRA /Archidux Austria dux Burgundie Brabant/: Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Brabant.
Coat of arms (heraldic elements) of Austria-Burgundy on the Burgundian X-cross or Cross of Burgundy.
Antwerp Mint (Belgium).
Mintage: 2.169.192.
- Copper: 24 mm - 2.38 g
- Reference price: 13$
COIN PENNING — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- BELGIUM (Belgian States, 12th-17th centuries) — Duchy of Brabant, County of Flanders, Lordship of Herstal: penning (denier) = 1/12 groot
- NETHERLANDS (Dutch States, 10th-16th centuries) — Frisia, Duchy of Guelders, County of Holland, Lordship of Megen, Lordship of Overijssel, Bishopric of Utrecht: penning (denier)
- NORWAY (10th-16th centuries): penning
- DENMARK (11th-17th centuries): penning = 1/12 skilling
- SWEDEN (12th-16th centuries): penning = 1/8 örtug
PENNING as coin name.
Penning — old, mostly silver, small Scandinavian coin.
Pennings of Norway, Denmark, Sweden are considered relatively common among numismatists. Also it is known about pennings of neighboring territories, for example — early coins of Belgium, Netherlans and penning of the 16th century of Tallinn, Estonia (at that time — the city of Reval).
The mentioned coin appeared about a thousand years ago: already at the beginning of the High Middle Ages, Norwegian pennings were mass-produced. The following denominations are known: ¼, ½ and 1 penning. Quarter and half pennings were often primitively decorated one-sided thin silver coins — bracteates. One penning looked much more interesting: it was decorated with heraldic elements (for example, the early coat of arms of Norway) or even portraits of rulers. However, the coin gradually degraded and even 1 penning turned into a bracteate in the Late Middle Ages.
An interesting fact: in the 11th century, for some reason, Norwegian pennings were temporarily made in a square shape. But this dubious practice was quickly abandoned.
Danish and Swedish pennings are somewhat less common than Norwegian ones.
The described coins are not frequent. However, occasionally on online auctions, even Ukrainian ones, you can still find pennings for sale. Sometimes these are, surprisingly, not the classic Scandinavian varieties. We are talking about the copper pennings of the Spanish Netherlands (the land of modern Benelux). The coin was minted in Brabant during the reign of Albrecht and Isabella.
It is also known about a related German coin — Dicker Penning (East Frisia, German States).
The name of the coin penning is obviously related and probably derived from the names of the English penny or the German pfennig. The etymology of all three terms is common, but not known for certain: there are only more or less plausible versions...
