Groschen

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Groschen

Groschen ( , , , , , , , , grosh, , ) was the (sometimes colloquial) name for a coin

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, usually in the shape of a Disk , and most often issued by a government....
used in various German

German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
-speaking states as well as some non-German-speaking countries of Central Europe

Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
(Bohemia

Bohemia

History...
, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
), the Danubian principalities

Danubian Principalities

Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principality of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common Geopolitics situation....
. The name, like that of the English groat

Groat

Groat is the traditional name of an England silver coin worth four History of the English penny, and also a Scottish coinage originally worth fourpence, with later issues being valued at eightpence and a shilling....
, derives from the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
denaro grosso, or large penny

Penny

A penny is a coin or a unit of currency used in several English-speaking countries....
, via the Bohemia

Bohemia

History...
n form groš. The Qirsh

Qirsh

Qirsh, Gersh, Grush, Kurus and Grosi are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire....
(also "Gersh", "Grush","G??s?" and "Kurus

Kurus

Kurus is a Turkey currency subunit. Since 2005, one new Turkish lira is equal to 100 kurus. The kurus was also the standard unit of currency in the Ottoman Empire until 1844, and from that date until the late 1970s was a subdivision of the former lira....
"), Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
, Ethiopian, Hebrew, Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
and Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
, are derived from the same Italian origin.

s like Groschen, grossus/grossi, grossone, Grosz, Gros, Groš, Garas etc.

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Encyclopedia

Groschen ( , , , , , , , , grosh, , ) was the (sometimes colloquial) name for a coin

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, usually in the shape of a Disk , and most often issued by a government....
used in various German

German language

Central Europe

Bohemia

History...
, Poland

Poland

Danubian Principalities

Groat

Italian language

Penny

A penny is a coin or a unit of currency used in several English-speaking countries....
, via the Bohemia

Bohemia

History...
n form groš. The Qirsh

Qirsh

Kurus

Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
, Ethiopian, Hebrew, Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
and Turkish

Turkish language

Ottoman Empire

History

Names like Groschen, grossus/grossi, grossone, Grosz, Gros, Groš, Garas etc. were used in the Middle Ages for all thick silver

Silver

Silver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal....
coin

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, usually in the shape of a Disk , and most often issued by a government....
s, as opposed to thin silver coins such as denier

Denier

Denier can refer to:* Units of textile measurement#Denier, unit of measurement of linear density of textile fiber mass- calculated as one gram per 9000 meters...
s or pennies. Historically it was equal to between several and a dozen denarii

Denarius

The ancient Roman currency system included the 'denarius' after 211 BC, a small silver coin, and it was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly Debasement until its replacement by the antoninianus....
.

The type was introduced in 1271 by Duke Meinhard II

Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia

Meinhard II was Count of Tirol, Italy , Duke of Carinthia and Carniola, and Count of Gorizia He was the son of Meinhard I of Gorizia-Tyrol and Adelheid, Countess of Tirol ....
of Tirol

Tirol, Italy

Tirol is a comune in the province of Province of Bolzano-Bozen in the Italy region Trentino-Alto Adige/S?dtirol, located about 70 km north of the city of Trento and about 25 km northwest of the city of Bolzano....
in Meran. The 1286 example depicted here weighs 1,45 g

G is the seventh letter in the Latin alphabet. Its name in English language is spelled gee....
, it is marked with ME IN AR DVS and a Double Cross

Double cross

Double cross is a phrase meaning to betray....
(Obverse

Obverse and reverse

The term obverse, and its antonym, reverse, describe the two sides of units of currency and many other kinds of two-sided objects, most often in reference to coins, but also to flags , medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art....
), and with DUX TIROL and the Eagle of Tirol

German Tyrol

German Tyrol is a historical region in the Alps now divided between Austria and Italy. It includes largely ethnic German areas of historical County of Tyrol: the States of Austria of Tyrol and the Regions of Italy known as the Alto Adige/S?dtirol but not the largely Italian language-speaking Autonomous Province of Trento ....
(Reverse

Obverse and reverse

French denier

File:Pepin_I_Aquitaine_denier_817_838.jpgThe denier was a French coin created by Charlemagne in the Early Middle Ages. It was introduced together with an accounting system in which twelve deniers equaled one sou and twenty sous equalled one French livre....
of Tours

Tours

Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France.It is located on the lower reaches of the river River Loire, between Orl?ans and the Atlantic Ocean coast....
, gros tournois).

It was minted since the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
in the following areas:

Tirol
German Tyrol

German Tyrol is a historical region in the Alps now divided between Austria and Italy. It includes largely ethnic German areas of historical County of Tyrol: the States of Austria of Tyrol and the Regions of Italy known as the Alto Adige/S?dtirol but not the largely Italian language-speaking Autonomous Province of Trento ....
(since 1271)
England
Edward I of England

Edward I , popularly known as Longshanks, the English Justinian, and the Hammer of the Scots , was a House of Plantagenet King of England who achieved historical fame by conquering large parts of Wales and almost succeeding in doing the same to Scotland....
(since 1279 )
Bohemia
Bohemia

History...
(since 1300, the Prager Groschen, later adopted by most of the Central Europe
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
an countries)
Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
(since 1367, the Krakau Groschen, 3,2 grams of silver, an equivalent of 12 denarius
Denarius

The ancient Roman currency system included the 'denarius' after 211 BC, a small silver coin, and it was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly Debasement until its replacement by the antoninianus....
)
Moldavia
Moldavia

Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river....
(since the reign of Petru I
Petru I of Moldavia

Petru I Musat was Voivode of Moldavia from 1375 to 1391, the son of Costea of Moldova, the first ruler from the dynastic House of Bogdan. During his reign he maintained good relationships with his neighbours, especially History of Poland ....
, 1375-1391)

Later the tradition of Groschen was dropped in most states while others continued to mint only coins smaller than the original coin. In Poland for example, since 1526 these included coins of 1/2 grosz, 1 grosz, 1,5 grosz, 2 grosz, 3 grosz, 4 grosz and 6 grosz. Their weight gradually dropped to 1,8 grams of silver and since 1752 they were replaced by copper coins of the same name.

In recent times, the name was used by two currencies in circulation:

In Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
a grosz (plural: grosze or groszy, depending on the number) is a 1/100 part of a Zloty
In Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
a Groschen (plural: Groschen) was a 1/100 part of a Schilling (1924-1938 and 1945-2001)

Likewise, in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
Groschen remained a slang term for the 10 Pfennig

Pfennig

The Pfennig is an old Germany coin or note, which existed from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002.While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, it lost its value through the years and was the minor coin of the Mark in the German Reich, the former West Germany and the German Democratic Republic , and afte...
coin, thus a 1/10 part both of the (West German) Deutsche Mark and the East German Mark

East German mark

The East German mark commonly called the eastern mark , in East Germany only Mark, was the currency of the German Democratic Republic ....
. The word has lost popularity with the introduction of the Euro

Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 out of 27 European Union member state of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain....
, although it can still be heard on occasion, especially from older people.

In Western Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
, grosh is still a slang

Slang

Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language....
term for the kopiyka, a 1/100 part of a Hryvnia. The Ukrainian word for money, hroshi, ultimately derives from this term also.

In Bulgaria

Bulgaria

The state of Bulgaria , Scientific transliteration Balgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria has played a significant role in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe for over fourteen centuries....
, the grosh (Cyrillic: ????) was used as a currency until the lev

Bulgarian lev

The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion"....
was introduced in the 19th century. The term has been retained as a general word for a coin or currency in a number of money-related proverbs and sayings, and can also be regularly encountered in folk tales or stories set vaguely in the past.

In Israel

Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
'Grush' (Plural 'Grushim') is used as slang for a small cost ("pennies"). This usage comes from the Yiddish used by Israel's Ashkenazi population, ultimately deriving from its German and Eastern European origins.

Germany

In Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, the name Groschen (both singular and plural) replaced Schilling as the common name for a 12 Pfennig

Pfennig

The Pfennig is an old Germany coin or note, which existed from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002.While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, it lost its value through the years and was the minor coin of the Mark in the German Reich, the former West Germany and the German Democratic Republic , and afte...
coin. In the 18th Century it was used predominantly in the northern states as a coin worth 1/24 of a Reichsthaler

Reichsthaler

The Reichsthaler was a standard Thaler of the Holy Roman Empire, established in 1566 by the Leipzig convention. It was also the name of a unit of account in northern Germany and of a silver coin issued by Prussia....
(equal to 1/32 of a Conventionsthaler

Conventionsthaler

The Conventionstaler was a standard silver coin of the Holy Roman Empire. It was introduced in 1754 and contained one tenth of a Cologne mark of silver ....
). In the 19th century, beginning in 1821 in Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....
, a new currency

Currency

A currency is a Medium of exchange, facilitating the trade of goods and/or Service s. It is coins and paper bills used as money. It is one form of money, where money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value....
system was introduced in which the Groschen (often called the Silbergroschen or Neugroschen to distinguish it from older Groschen) was worth 1/30 of a Thaler

Thaler

The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or Slovenian tolar....
(Taler). Following German unification and decimalization, the Groschen was replaced by the 10 Pfennig coin and Groschen remained a nickname for the 10 Pfennig coin until the introduction of the Euro

Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 out of 27 European Union member state of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain....
. For the same reason, the name "Sechser" (sixer) remained in use regionally for the half-Groschen coin, 5 Pfennigs.

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
introduced the Groschen in 1924 as the subdivision of the Schilling

Austrian schilling

The Schilling was the currency of Austria between 1924 and 1938 and again between 1945 and 1999, and the circulating currency until 2002. The euro was introduced at a fixed parity of ?1 = 13.7603 Schilling to replace it....
. It was restored, along with the Schilling, in 1945 and continued in use until the introduction of the euro

Euro

Groschen

History

Germany

Austria

See also

External links