Coins of Carantania

Karantanski novec

They are assumed to be of “Celtic” origin! - But are they?

Norican tetradrachm (silver) introduced as Eastern Celtic coinage, 1st century BC.


	•	On the obverse the effigy of a Norican king or prince, wearing a hat with linden bough on his head.


	•	On the reverse, probably the same prince beside a linden-tree, which was the tree of life of the ancient Veneti (Vends).

by Dr. Jožko Šavli
August 6, 2010

The first coins in the Eastern Alpine area, where in the Middle Ages the Slovenian principality of Carantania arose, appeared in the middle of the 2nd century BC. It was the beginning of the Norican coinage and currency, shaped after the Greek-Macedonian model.

regnum Noricum - existed in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. It was a kingdom that had good economic connections with Rome. In fact, the Noricans were Vends (Veneti). They entered into trade agreements with the Roman Empire mainly because of their famous “ferrum Noricum” (Norican iron), which was used for the production of Roman weapons. In fact, it was a steel-like iron of famous quality.

The center of regnum Noricum, (ca. 113 to 15 BC), which encompassed large parts of present-day Austria and Slovenia, was the one-time sacred mountain called Magdalensberg (Šentlenska gora) (possibly Virunum, successor of Noreia) in modern Carinthia. This name refers to the Carni, a tribe that had settled the south-eastern part of the province in present-day Carinthia, Upper Carniola and Friuli, were they had formed the federal kingdom of Noricum. The Carni people gave modern Carinthia its name, and also Carnia (Northern Friuli) and Carniola (in Slovenia) were named after them. It is the same people who, after the decline of the Roman Empire in 476 AD, and after some decades of Otrogothic occupation, proclaimed an independent Carantania. In 595 AD, a historical source mentions for the first time the existence of provincia Sclavorum (Carantania) (also called Sclauinia, Slovenia).

It is said, that the first mint was established at Magdalensberg (or Štalen, Šentlenska gora), which in the 1st century BC was the centre of Western Noricum (Carnia). It was the golden age of the Norican imperial coinage, where in ca. 70 BC the Norican large silver and gold coins (tetradrachms) were minted.

The above silver coin is named after the Greek tetradrachm. It was suitable for trade in Western Noricum, Carinthia.
It bears the inscriptions ECCAIO AR, the provenance is circa 2nd century BC.

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On obverse would have been the stylized head of Apollo

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On the reverse: a horseman, preparing to discharge a spear.

In a similar way, the large East Norican silver coinage was minted near Celje (Celea, Cilli) in today's modern Slovenia. Experts want us to believe, that the obverse depicts the head of Apollo (?), which is a distortion of historical truth. It is certainly the head of an indigenous chieftain or Norican king. On his head we see a diadem of linden leaves in run. The reverse presents a horseman preparing a spear for discharge, to which the name of the individual tribal prince is attached.

Gold stater – the so-called „ rainbow coin“ Boii, prince Biatec, ca. 100 BC

At that time, the silver coins of the Boii, who had founded a mint of their own in the area of today's Bratislava around 60 BC, dominated the circulation in the area of Vienna.

Tetradrachm (Prince Svicca), pertaining to the Taurisci, a Norican tribe, around 100 BC.


	•	On the obverse, the shape of a head, which probably belongs to Voccio, the Norican king.


	•	The first coin circulated in the later Austrian (Caratanian) territory.

The obverse depicts a prince, wearing a great diadem on his head, probably made of pearls. Above are clouds (?) and on both sides of his head are waves. The effigy is rather a mythological one. It possibly shows a deity, which could have been the Father God, or the prince, which was his representative.

The reverse of the coin depicts a horse, which is a symbol of the sun already mentioned in the mythology of the Aryan nations. In Rigveda the sun is called “stallion”... The white horse became the mount and a symbol of the deity (Lurker, 551).

Presumably, an important trading center was the district Weinviertel (wine district) north-east of Vienna. This can be concluded from the finds of coins minted in various parts of the Norican kingdom. Apart from mint quality gold coins, there was also a great number of contemporary counterfeits in circulation, the so-called "lined" (gefütterte) coins, consisting of a copper centre clad with a thin coating of gold.

Lined gold coins, contemporary falsifications.

However, I was very surprised not only to find the effigy of »Apollo« (obverse) on the silver coins from West Noricum (today's Carinthia), which I consider the head of a Norican ruler of that province, but also the image of a horseman (reverse). Above the crest of his helmet there are three pellets.

Evidently, the diadem must have been the ruler's dignitary sign like it was elsewhere at that time. But what did it mean “helmet with three pellets”? In my opinion, the pellets symbolize the number three, which already in the Antiquity was a sacred number.

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West Noricum, tetradrachm, 2nd century BC. Kugelreiter type. Diademed Laureate head of “Apollo” left,

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to the right: warrior on horseback with three pellets on helmet crest.

It was a number that had several meanings in the Antiquity. So for example: heaven, earth and underworld (in cosmological sense 9, or: past, present and future (in chronological sense) etc. In the Christian world the number three symbolizes the Holy Trinity. I think, the helmet with three pellets was a combat helmet of the ruler, who could have been a prince or a king. The West Norican king is in question here, who did wear such helmet as a combat cover, meaning to fight for a fair thing, which must be considered a divine task.

Decorative brooch, which depicts a (Carantanian) ruler, and its graphic design. The brooch was recovered from the finding place of Bled - Grad, in 1960. It pertains to the finds of the second half of the 10th century AD.

An interesting fact is, that at the finding place in Bled – Grad, a brooch has been unearthed, which depicts a head bearing a helmet with three pellets (10th century AD). In my opinion, the brooch shows a Carantanian prince. In the Carantania of that time, a dignitary with such helmet does not come into question. It is about a sign, that bears witness to the continuation of the Norican Kingdom - and - Province in the later Carantania of the Middle Ages.

I do not agree with the interpretation that the obverse of the large Norican silver coin depicts the head of Apollo. These coins, it is true, could have been modelled after Greek – Macedonian examples. It is quite normal to find on the obverse the effigy of the coin lord, who could only have been the tribal prince or prince of land.

The so-called Eastern Celtic tetradrachm, 1st century BC.
In fact, it is not about a »celtic«, but about a silver coin of Norican (Vendic) origin.

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The obverse depicts a prince, probably the coin lord, wearing a wreath with linden bough on his head with his hair in braids. It is considered to be the head of Apollo.

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The reverse should depict Hercules among pearls.

In fact, the obverse depicts the head of a prince, wearing a wreath made of linden bough. I think, this bough is rather an indigenous sign, it is the ancient tree of life, which already existed in Noricum. It was a legacy of the ancient Vends (Veneti), and entered the traditions of the later Carantania (Slovenia).

In Noricum, the large silver coins, the tetradrachms, disappeared from circulation when Noricum entered the Roman Empire (15 BC). Norican small silver coins, however, that were issued next to the Roman coins, were common until the middle of the 1st century AD. (Emperor Claudius period).

Province Noricum– Under Emperor Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) the Roman influence spread all over the country. The use of Roman coins spread quickly through the Roman troops in the area of the Eastern Alps. Trade flourished, construction of roads and expansion of urban settlements were on the rise.

Anyway, in the provinces of Noricum Raetia and Pannonia, probably for safety reasons, mints were not allowed to coin. The supply of coins originated from the mints of Aquileia and Siscia (today Sisak, Croatia).

In this period there have been numerous attempts to produce forgeries. One such counterfeit, known as the »limes falsa«, seems to have played an important role in local cash practices, and has been minted with the consent of the authorities to alleviate the shortage of small coins. Also, the so-called denarii subaerati, a counterfeit »silver-coated« denar with a copper core, circulated in the Roman limes regions along the Danube.

The decline of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD brought the economy in Noricum and in the Danube region to a complete standstill and destroyed the financial system. In the following two centuries the coin did not play any great role in the monetary economy. The trade served only local supply.

After the decline of the Roman Empire the province of Noricum became a part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, which had established itself in Italy. After some decades, this kingdom was occupied by the Byzantines. However, in 567 AD, the Lombards invaded Italy and founded their own proper kingdom.

Carantania – The Lombards did not expand their kingdom into ancient Noricum, which became an independent state, respectively principality. In 595 AD, the name “provincia Sclaborum” is mentioned for the very first time in historical records (Paulus Diaconus). In later documents it is mostly called Carantania (Karantania) or Sclauinia (Slovenia).

The economy of early Carantania was based on the natural exchange of goods. The main economic activities were agriculture and cattle breeding. On extensive flat fields grew wheat, rye… In the people’s tradition is also mentioned turnip. Cattle were grazing in the mountains. Important was the breeding of horses for field work and army.

Transactions were done on markets. Some of them were very important. In modern Carinthia we encounter still today the name Trg (Feldkirchen) for a small town found in the North West of the country. The word “trg” means market. From ancient Noricum some ancient breeds have been preserved, like the Norican cow or the Norican horse.

Denarius of Arnulf of Carinthia (* ca 849, Duke of Carantania 876, King of the Eastern Franks 877, Emperor 894) (†899).

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Obverse: cross with one pellet in each corner, and the inscription: + ARNO)LDVS RE(X).

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Revers: (MOGONCI)AE CIVIT and palace meaning reign.

Royal seal of Arnulf of Carinthia (Carantania), King since 887 and Emperor since 896. He died in 899.

In the first centuries of the Middle Ages, in Carantania, the exchange based on monetary values was still very modest. Thus, the right of coinage belonged to the Regalia, i.e. to the King. Here, I would like to call attention to the denari, which was minted under Arnulf of Carinthia, Duke of Carantania (876), King (887) and Emperor (896).

Since the 10th century, however, the right of coinage was gradually granted to sovereign princes and bishop-princes.

Consequently, in Carantania, different coins, mostly silver, came into circulation. So did the penny (pfennig) of Duke Bernard of Carinthia (1202 – 1256), that was minted in Lublana and in Friesach (Breže). There were also minted pennies of the Archbishops of Salzburg, who had possessions in Carantanian lands. The Counts of Goerz minted their denari in Lienz. The denari was also given into circulation by the Patriarch of Aquileia.

Meinhard II., Count of Goerz – Tyrol (1258 – 1295)

In 1286, Meinhard II of Goerz - Tyrol, Count of Tyrol, was appointed Duke of Carinthia. This historical duchy was the central province of the former Grand Duchy of Carantania, Therefore, it also preserved its political tradition. Based on this, Meinhard's formal enfeoffment with Carinthia was carried out according to the ancient Slovenian rite: "He was enthroned on the "Prince's Stone", then he judged the quarrels and enfeoffed the liegemen on the "Ducal Throne", which is still to be found on the field of Svatne, north of Celovec/Klagenfurt in Carinthia.

In Meran, the principal town in Meinhard's county Tyrol, there used to be a mint, which produced silver coins since approx. 1270. The obverse depicts a double cross with the inscription Meinardvs and the reverse displays the image of the Tyrolean eagle and the continuation of the inscription Comes Tiroli. Because Meran is situated on the River Etsch (Adige), the German speaking population called this coin an Etschkreuzer.

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Carantan or Kreuzer (Etschkreuzer) of Count Meinhard of Tyrol (1258 – 1295), Duke of Carinthia (Carantania).

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This silver coin was in circulation for centuries, in Italy until 1858.

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The obverse depicts a double cross and the legend: Meinhardvs.

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The reverse depicts the Tyrolean eagle and the inscription: Comes Tiroli.

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Above the eagle appears the cross, and below four five-petal flowers. They are a sign of Father God and the universe.

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On the obverse the cross arms exceed into a circle. The cross is the sign of the universe, because its four arms show the four directions of the sky. The arms of the cross exceed a circle, the sign of eternity, because it has no beginning and no end. In the center of the circle there is another cross.

In this way, the arms of the cross create the number Eight. Since prehistoric times, this number has appeared in various cultures and religions as a manifold symbol. In the Christendom of the Middle Ages it means a lucky beginning . Thus, on the eighth day a new week begins, and so on... Church Fathers considered the number Eight as a symbol of Christ's Resurrection. It was therefore the symbol of a new start in the grace of God after baptism. Therefore, in the early Christendom the baptisteries were octagonal.

I think, the suggestive message of the double cross, as depicted on the carantan, meant a lucky beginning. This silver coin was mostly diffused outside of Carantania. Anyway, the name »carantan« bears witness of the importance, which this state enjoyed in the Middle Europe. Otherwise, the coin could have been called a »Tyrolean«, i.e., after the country, where it was minted. This circumstance permits us to classify the carantan as a cultural legacy of ancient Carantania (Slovenia).

Were the Noricans a Celtic or a Venetic people?

Even today, Austrian and German experts strictly ascribe the origin of the Noricans to the Celts. This viewpoint is a distortion of the historical truth in sense of the pan-German ideology. They are eager to believe that the Celtic culture had the ability to mint their own coinage, which was the sign of a strong economy. It is generally accepted, that the Germanic tribes are heirs of the Celtic culture, and the Celtic coins should be witness of that culture, which existed in today's German speaking territory. Austrians are still of the opinion that the first mint was established on “Austrian soil”. The natives should be proud of their “Austrian” heritage, their achievements and their ancestors.

In 113 BC, when Noreia, the Norican chief town, was besieged by Teutons and Cimbres, the Romans were bringing reinforcements to the besieged town. Around 60 BC, Julius Caesar mentioned ager Noricus, which was a federal kingdom of four tribes: Taurisci, Norici, Carni and Latobici. Their ruler at that time was King Voccio. Thereafter, in 16 BC, Noricum freely associated with the Roman Empire. Its neighbouring countries, Pannonia, Vindelicia (now Bavaria) and Raetia (now Tyrol), were under Roman occupation. Inside the Roman Empire, Noricum preserved its autonomy, i.e., its political and social structure.

Under Roman rule the Noricans gradually adopted Roman customs in the following centuries. The first centres of local self-government were built, provincial towns became municipia, this is, towns in the sense of the Roman law and corresponding status.

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Noricum during the Roman time and its city-provinces.

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Emona (later Lublana) and Poetovio (Ptuj, Pettau) pertained to Pannonia.

After the decay of the Roman Empire and after some decades of Ostrogothic occupation, in 595 AD, a historical source mentions for the first time the existence of provincia Sclavorum (Carantania) in this territory. Its name refers to the people of Carni, a Norican tribe, that had settled the south-eastern part of the province in present-day Carinthia, Upper Carniola and Friuli.xx

Carantania extended on the territory of ancient Noricum (Austria), except the area which is now Salzburg Land and Tyrol. It was a principality with a Slovenian speaking population. Therefore, it appears also as “Sclauinia” in historical sources.

In the present-day Austrian, German and Yugoslav historiography, however, Carantanians are still designated as “Slavs”. Thus, they apparently arrived in the Eastern Alps as an indefinite Slavic tribe from the area behind the Carpathian Mountains as early as 568 AD. After several centuries they were to become Slovenians. Of course, historians forgot to explain, when did the “Slavs” become Slovenians?

The fact is, that there are no documents about any such arrival in this area, which became the later Carantania and is now Austria. Nor is there an indirect way to establish their arrival. At this point, we encounter again the pan-German and pan-Slav ideology among academic circles, which oppose the autochtonism and historical identity of Carantanians – Slovenians.

Who were the Noricans?

Historical sources referring to Noricum, do not directly mention the Celts. Livius, the well-known Roman writer (59 BC – 17 AD) calls the Noricans an “Alpini populi” and their ruler “rex Gallorum Cincibilius”. Could Galli (Gauls) be equated with Celts? In general, the Celts are identified as people from the British Isles, where their original language is still partly preserved.

The continental Gauls and the continental Celts did certainly not pertain to those Celts. Their language was the same as that of the Veneti (Vends), similar to modern Slavic languages… I think, Livius understood the language of the Galli (Gauls) and since the Venetic Noricans spoke the same language, he called them Galli.

On the other hand, neither Noricans nor Carantanians showed any connection to the Balkans, where first the Illyrians and then the Balkan Slavs had settled. There are all kinds of indications, that the Noricans - Carantanians – Slovenians have been an autochthon people. They are the successors of the ancient Veneti, who in the prehistoric and pre-Roman period settled Central Europe.

I presented this critical comment, because of continuous efforts to present these coins as Norican "Celtic" coins , which is inaccurate and unproven. I think, it illustrates a clear bias. The quotation of Emil Polaschek provides proof, that the Venetic people in Gurina (Gorina), in the Zila/Gail Valley (in Carinthia) minted proper coins with Venetic names of their chieftains, for example: En no u (silver) or E n no (gold), in Latin writing: Tinco or Ti as well as Adnamat, Atta, Nemet…(Real-Enzyklopädie der Altertumswissenschaft 1936, p. 974).

Imitations?

In my opinion, it is of some importance to recognize, that the territory of present-day Austria and Slovenia was settled by the Veneti, an autochthon people with a proper state structure and culture, i.e., the Kingdom of Noricum. Its existence goes back to pre-Roman times. This kingdom possessed coinage since ancient times, which was part of the cultural tradition in the territory of Carantania (now Austria and Slovenia).

It is said, that the pattern for coinage was taken from the Roman Republican denarii and that the “Celtic” Norican coin is an imitation of the denarii. But who do they belong to? An expert's opinion (David Phil, 2004):

Perhaps no series of ancient coins is as consistently misunderstood, vaguely described, or incorrectly attributed, as are the so-called "Celtic" imitations of Roman Republican denarii. Even the placement of these coins in sales catalogues is erratic; sometimes they are found in the Celtic section, sometimes alongside official Republican coins, sometimes as a subsection at the end of a run of official coins. They're variously ascribed to Gaul, Pannonia, Dacia, or the "Danube River basin". This confusion is frustrating, considering how interesting and attractive many imitations are. The wild array of horses with extra or missing legs, flying charioteers, alien Roma heads, and gods on a stick, often clearly identified with legends like IOIOIV, is like nothing else in ancient numismatics.

They've appealed to me in a general way for some time, but I only recently began to systematically acquire and examine them. It turns out that much of what I thought I knew about these imitations is wrong. They don't originate in Gaul, although there is a well-known series of smaller Gallic coins, the so-called quinarii, which often also derive from Roma head and chariot or other Republican types. These, however, are generally signed by the Gallic tribe that struck them, and are a different category of coin altogether. The majority of denarius-sized imitations of Republican coins aren't even Celtic.

In fact, these coins were struck further east, in Hungary and the Balkans, more often by Geto-Dacians than by Celts. There is a considerable literature about them in the "source" countries, but much of it is difficult to obtain, and generally written in languages that are not well understood in Western Europe or the US. Numismatists, mostly in the Balkans, who have studied imitations, have often focused on the coins found in their home countries. I'm not aware of an attempt in any language to distinguish the various sorts of imitations. Certainly, there is no such classification in English. I've tried to address this in the system that follows. A true catalogue of these coins will probably never be feasible, as each die combination would require its own listing, but hopefully the following arrangement can at least provide a framework for looking at the diverse coins presently lumped into the catchall category "imitations."

Linden leaves

The tetradrachm represented below is considered a barbarous imitation of the Thracian type of tetradrachms pertaining to the “Eastern Celts”. On the head in front we see a bough with linden-leaves. The figure on the reverse carries something in his right hand and is probably holding a mantle in his left. In this case, it is certain that the linden-leaves do not represent a symbol of the Celts, because in their belief the most sacred tree of all was the oak tree. The linden tree was the tree of life of the ancient Veneti, the Noricans and the later Carantanians and Slovenians. For comparison look at the image on top of the article.

Norican tetradrachm (silver) introduced as Eastern Celtic coinage, 1st century BC.


	•	On the obverse the effigy of a Norican king or prince, wearing a hat with linden bough on his head.

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On the reverse, probably the same prince beside a linden-tree, which was the tree of life of the ancient Veneti (Vends).

After comments on Celtic minting right, the relative chronological classification of the late La Tene, 'east and west Norican' tetradrachm and small silver coinage is discussed. On the basis of maximum tolerances of weight within a die combination, and of frequency-distributions of the weights, it can be shown that larger periods of time at least can be gauged by means of the metrological data for this silver coinage.

Relatively clear, separate areas of distribution could be proposed for the 'east and west Norican' tetradrachms. The beginning of the older 'west Norican' coinage is attributed to the beginning of the second third of the first century B.C. The disappearance of the 'west Norican' small silver coinage occurred at the latest in early Claudian times. The regnum Noricum now appears as a kind of tribal league of several reguli, as a result of restructuring the output from the mints. (Michael Mackensen: The State of Research on the “Norican” silver coinage, 1975)

Thus, the division of Norican coins into a western and an eastern currency is not correct. The facts seem to confirm the assumption, that the Norican kingdom had an ancestral mint. It was probably founded at the site of Magdalensberg (in Carinthia). The city had a flourishing trade with Aquileia, the Roman metropolis on the Northern Adria.

The predominant effigy on the obverse of these tetradrachm coins is the head, very likely that of a king, and on the reverse the image of a rider, also a king. To ascribe these coins to the Celts is considered wrong and has to be corrected. I base my judgment on the new discovery of Norican coins of Gurina type, a Norican finding place in the Gail/Zila Valley. Gurina was never ascribed to the Celts but to the Veneti (Vends). The Austrian experts – it must be a Celtic paranoia – completely ignore their existence in the Eastern Alps. It is evidently about an ideological question (see my quotations at the beginning of this article). It has been said, the coins that have come forward by the recent excavations within the Gurina settlement should also be of “Celtic” origin.

It has been quoted, that since the 19th century 13 silver coins have been unearthed at this finding place. Recently, the excavators found further 28 coins of identical type. This confirms the assumption, that Gurina had a mint and the right to coinage on a regular basis for a long time. Furthermore, some of the coins found in Gurina could have arrived there with the “Celtic” neighbours.

Silver coins of Gurina presenting the usual Norican pictures: a head, very probably that of a king, and a horse or rider.

However, the coins of (non-Celtic) Gurina also show a head on the obverse and a horse or rider on the reverse, this is the standard effigy of a Norican coin. This fact rejects the theory that Noricum was entirely of “Celtic” origin, which must be characterized as a fiction. I think, the abolishment of such stereotype is without damage to the true prehistorical cultural tradition on the territory of modern Austria (and Slovenia). Anyway, it is important to know, that the Venetic Noricans have been the predecessors of Carantanians and consequently of Austrians and Slovenians.

Related article: Related articles:

The Vends and the Celts

The Vends and the Romans