Austrian Mint - Glossary

In the Glossary on our website all those interested in numismatics will find the most important technical terms. There is a short explanation of each term. If you still have an unanswered question please contact us.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

Scherf	Half a pfennig, above all in the time of the Hohenstaufens. Martin Luther coined the expression Scherflein (= little mite) for coins of the lowest value. Today, the idiom sein Scherflein beitragen is still used in German (i.e. "to pay one´s mite").

Schilling (shilling)	Old High German scilling - probably after scilt - schild, shield - thus a shield-like coin; counter coin in the Carolingian monetary system since the eighth century. The shilling was struck for the first time as a piece of money in France in 1266. It was at first a twelve-pfennig piece in South, South-West and North Germany, Austria and Switzerland. From the fourteenth century onwards, shillings were worth 6, 8 and 10 pfennigs. Finally, the "long schilling" of Bavaria, worth 30 pfennigs, was added to the list. The last German schillings were issued for Mecklenburg in 1866. The first English shillings were struck in silver during the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509). The shilling mintage came to an end with the introduction of the decimal system in 1971.

Schilling - Austria	The Austrian schilling superseded the crown as monetary unit in 1924 and, after the period of the reichsmark during the war years, was the respected Austrian currency until the end of 2001. The one-schilling piece is a beautiful, simple coin. The term "hard schilling" was an indication of the stability of the Austrian currency.

Screw press	A coining machine invented around the mid-sixteenth century, which since 1650 had superseded earlier coining methods such as hammer striking and rocker-arm or roller presses, but which only became generally used after 1700. A large screw made the upper die hit the blank and the lower die with a spring impact.

Sesterce	From Latin semistertius, i.e. worth two and a half asses. Roman coin as of 211 BC, struck in small quantities as a silver coin, in imperial times made of brass (1 sestertius = 4 asses).

Shekel	Standard monetary unit of Israel - 1 New Shekel (NIS) = 100 agorot.

Silver	Latin argentum; used as coin metal only after electron metal, because it was more difficult to obtain. Between the tenth and the twelfth century, most of the silver in Europe came from the Harz mountains. The Schwaz silver mine in Tyrol boomed from the fifteenth century onwards. From the mid-sixteenth century, most silver came from America.

Silver commemorative coins	Commemorative coins of silver dedicated to specific occasions. They can be issued both as single coins and as a series, for instance the 500 schillings series Österreich und sein Volk (Austria and its people), or the 25, 50, 100 and 500 schillings silver commemorative coins of the Republic of Austria.

Silver currency	The monetary system in which silver money is legal tender, whereby gold coins are used only as trade currency without a legal basis. A purely silver monetary system existed in Europe from the time of Charlemagne until the fourteenth century. In Austria, silver currency (guilders) was only valid until the introduction of the crown monetary system in 1892.

Sixpence	English half-shilling, first struck in the reign of Edward VI in 1551. After introduction of the decimal system in England, the sixpence was abolished.

Sou	(previously sol from solidus) French copper coin. The word remained in use until the twentieth century as the name of the 5-centime piece.

Sovereign	Introduced by Henry VII of England in 1489, the gold piece corresponded to a pound of silver money or 20 shillings. It is still struck nowadays when needed.

Spade money	Barter money before coins came into use. Derived from using spades and hoes as means of barter, a miniaturised spade was used as a symbol in China, becoming an object of barter similar to money (= character money).

Special commemorative coins	Coins which as a rule are issued for "special occasions", or are associated with certain topics, such as the "Millennium Series". Are only struck in the highest proof quality and always in strictly limited issues.

Special Uncirculated	Special Uncirculated (SU) is a term used in Austria for coins which are manually taken from the machine and therefore have a slightly higher quality as coins in the quality Uncirculated (Unc.).

Sterling	Name of the penny introduced by Henry II in 1180. We know the term in its association with the English pound: pound sterling. The alloy is sterling silver with a standard fineness of 925/1000. The Austrian 500-schilling silver pieces have this fineness.

Strip	The preliminary material for coins: the cast metal billet is cut into strips. The strips are rolled to the thickness of a coin, from which the planchets (the blanks to be struck into coins) are punched out.