Örtug, Gotland, Visby, 1420–1450
Gotland introduced around 1340 the denomination örtug with the value of 12 pennings. On one side of the coin is the German lily and on the other the coat of arms of the city of Visby, a lamb with a banner, the Lamb of God. The legend reads: ‘MONETA CIVITATIS’ and continues with ‘WISBVCENCIS’. It means the mint of the city of Visby, the place where the coin was made. The coin in the display case was minted between 1420 and 1440/50.
During the reign of King Erik of Pomerania, many Gotland local coins were minted, which were also called gotar. These were under-utilised, causing excessive inflation. Erik of Pomerania's local coins were therefore called ‘black Goths’ because they were very rich in copper and contained low levels of silver. After 1450, Danish coinage was introduced on Gotland, and the örtugar were replaced by the Danish denomination hvid, which was equivalent to 4 pennings.
)Object number: 105921_KMK
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