Material Nondestructive Investigations Reveal the Hidden Secrets of Two Saxon Quarter Thalers Issued in 1544—A Case Study.
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| Title: | Material Nondestructive Investigations Reveal the Hidden Secrets of Two Saxon Quarter Thalers Issued in 1544—A Case Study. |
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| Authors: | Grochowska-Jasnos, Marzena1 (AUTHOR), Pripon, Emanoil2 (AUTHOR), Tudoran, Lucian Barbu3,4 (AUTHOR), Ignat, Nicoleta4,5 (AUTHOR), Borodi, Gheorghe4,5 (AUTHOR), Petean, Ioan1,5 (AUTHOR) ioan.petean@ubbcluj.ro |
| Source: | Materials (1996-1944). Apr2026, Vol. 19 Issue 7, p1325. 27p. |
| Subjects: | Coins, Numismatics, X-ray diffraction, Materials analysis, Silver alloys, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Nondestructive testing |
| Geographic Terms: | Saxony (Germany) |
| Abstract: | Saxony was ruled by two cousins in 1544: John Frederick I (Elector of Saxony) and his cousin Maurice (Duke of Saxony). Both rulers' names appear on each side of the quarter thalers produced in this year. They were enemies involved in religious wars, although they were both Protestants. Two types of quarter thalers from 1544 occur: a pierced random find from Transylvania (Romania) with four shields on the reverse, heavily worn, and another one with three shields on the obverse side, found in the Głogów Hoard (Poland), which is well preserved. Why did they issue two types in the same year? Was it a matter of silver title or other historical factors? Nondestructive investigation methods were used: XRD revealed the phases within the alloy and patina layer; SEM-EDS revealed the morphological aspects and their elemental compositions, which were correlated with XRF results. The results show that both coins have closer silver amounts, from 91 to 96 wt.%. The EDS results were in good agreement with the XRF results. Lead traces indicated a difference between them: the four-shielded coin is lead-free, while the three-shielded coin has a moderate amount of lead, about 0.5 wt.%. The archeological data evidence that the four-shielded coin issued in 1544 is rarer than the three-shielded one because it was issued during specific historical conditions. Black patina is formed by a mixture rich in copper oxides mixed with silver oxides and Ag2S. The presence of silver sulfide in the patina layer confirms that the pierced coin was in prolonged contact with the skin surface. Also, the finest traces of minerals embedded in the patina layer (e.g., quartz, kaolinite, and calcite) suggest that they were embedded in the patina via prolonged exposure to particulate matter. The mineral inclusions in the patina would have been more numerous if they were formed underground. Thus, the pierced four-shielded coin was probably worn as jewelry by nomads, while the three-shielded coin was most likely treasured in a well-preserved hoard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Materials (1996-1944) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 192958687 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Material Nondestructive Investigations Reveal the Hidden Secrets of Two Saxon Quarter Thalers Issued in 1544—A Case Study. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Grochowska-Jasnos%2C+Marzena%22">Grochowska-Jasnos, Marzena</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pripon%2C+Emanoil%22">Pripon, Emanoil</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tudoran%2C+Lucian+Barbu%22">Tudoran, Lucian Barbu</searchLink><relatesTo>3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ignat%2C+Nicoleta%22">Ignat, Nicoleta</searchLink><relatesTo>4,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Borodi%2C+Gheorghe%22">Borodi, Gheorghe</searchLink><relatesTo>4,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Petean%2C+Ioan%22">Petean, Ioan</searchLink><relatesTo>1,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ioan.petean@ubbcluj.ro</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Materials+%281996-1944%29%22">Materials (1996-1944)</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 19 Issue 7, p1325. 27p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coins%22">Coins</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Numismatics%22">Numismatics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22X-ray+diffraction%22">X-ray diffraction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Materials+analysis%22">Materials analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Silver+alloys%22">Silver alloys</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Energy+dispersive+X-ray+spectroscopy%22">Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nondestructive+testing%22">Nondestructive testing</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Saxony+%28Germany%29%22">Saxony (Germany)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Saxony was ruled by two cousins in 1544: John Frederick I (Elector of Saxony) and his cousin Maurice (Duke of Saxony). Both rulers' names appear on each side of the quarter thalers produced in this year. They were enemies involved in religious wars, although they were both Protestants. Two types of quarter thalers from 1544 occur: a pierced random find from Transylvania (Romania) with four shields on the reverse, heavily worn, and another one with three shields on the obverse side, found in the Głogów Hoard (Poland), which is well preserved. Why did they issue two types in the same year? Was it a matter of silver title or other historical factors? Nondestructive investigation methods were used: XRD revealed the phases within the alloy and patina layer; SEM-EDS revealed the morphological aspects and their elemental compositions, which were correlated with XRF results. The results show that both coins have closer silver amounts, from 91 to 96 wt.%. The EDS results were in good agreement with the XRF results. Lead traces indicated a difference between them: the four-shielded coin is lead-free, while the three-shielded coin has a moderate amount of lead, about 0.5 wt.%. The archeological data evidence that the four-shielded coin issued in 1544 is rarer than the three-shielded one because it was issued during specific historical conditions. Black patina is formed by a mixture rich in copper oxides mixed with silver oxides and Ag2S. The presence of silver sulfide in the patina layer confirms that the pierced coin was in prolonged contact with the skin surface. Also, the finest traces of minerals embedded in the patina layer (e.g., quartz, kaolinite, and calcite) suggest that they were embedded in the patina via prolonged exposure to particulate matter. The mineral inclusions in the patina would have been more numerous if they were formed underground. Thus, the pierced four-shielded coin was probably worn as jewelry by nomads, while the three-shielded coin was most likely treasured in a well-preserved hoard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Materials (1996-1944) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=192958687 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3390/ma19071325 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 27 StartPage: 1325 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Coins Type: general – SubjectFull: Numismatics Type: general – SubjectFull: X-ray diffraction Type: general – SubjectFull: Materials analysis Type: general – SubjectFull: Silver alloys Type: general – SubjectFull: Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy Type: general – SubjectFull: Nondestructive testing Type: general – SubjectFull: Saxony (Germany) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Material Nondestructive Investigations Reveal the Hidden Secrets of Two Saxon Quarter Thalers Issued in 1544—A Case Study. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Grochowska-Jasnos, Marzena – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pripon, Emanoil – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Tudoran, Lucian Barbu – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Ignat, Nicoleta – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Borodi, Gheorghe – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Petean, Ioan IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 19961944 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 19 – Type: issue Value: 7 Titles: – TitleFull: Materials (1996-1944) Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
