Coins from the Streets of Racibórz

The aim of the article is to present numismatic collections from the Museum in Racibórz which have been found at municipal sites during supervision and regular archaeological excavations. This will allow us to observe which coins have come to Racibórz (germ. Ratibor) and (Upper) Silesia over the centuries. The analysed coins will be compared with finds obtained during excavations in other cities in Upper Silesia – Gliwice (germ. Gleiwitz) (the market square and St. George’s Church in Czechowice (germ. Schechowitz)) and Bytom (germ. Beuthen) (St. Margaret’s Hill) – and in the main centre in Lower Silesia, Wrocław (germ. Breslau) (Nowy Targ Square and St. Elizabeth’s Church). The study includes 76 coins acquired in the years 1979–2015 on 12 sites located within the borders of the city of Racibórz. This number includes the hoard of 17 Prague groschen of Wenceslas II, 56 single finds and three coin-like objects. In addition, two metal objects were included in the study which were discovered near the castle in the district of Racibórz – Ostróg. Both objects are difficult to identify, initially defined as a ring eye and a weight (monetary or merchant). The entire collection is dominated by Bohemian coins, including Prague groschen, parvus and white pennies. Silesian coins are the second largest group – three wide bracteates (unfortunately without provenance), a very rare Opava heller of Přemek I (1377–1433) and two groeschels of Ferdinand II (1617–1637). Moreover, two rare pennies of Sigismund III (1587–1632) struck in Poznań mint were found, which usually give way to pennies and ternarius struck in Łobżenica mint, which were not recorded in the collection from Racibórz. Considering all the coins in chronological terms, the dominant coins are late medieval ones – from the second half of the 13th century to the first half of the 15th century. The second concentration of Racibórz finds is from the 18th–20th century. A comparative analysis of coins discovered in Racibórz, Gliwice and Bytom and the hoard of Prague groschen from Błażejowice (germ. Blaschowitz) confirms the hypothesis of Borys Paszkiewicz that it was through Upper Silesia that Bohemian coins reached the territory of present day Poland. As a result, there is a significant number of small Bohemian coins in this area, with a smaller number to be found deeper within Poland.