Witten, Wismar, 1379–1381
The city of Wismar, which was part of the Hanseatic League, joined the Wendish Coinage Union in 1379. This was a common monetary system where the aim was for everyone to create coins with the same weight and silver content. The star was a common identification symbol used. On this coin, it appears inside a circle in the centre of a floral cross. The inscription around the circle reads MONETA WYSMAR (= Coin of Wismar). The other side of the coin shows the coat of arms of the Principality of Mecklenburg, a bull’s head with the inscription CIVITAS MAGNOP (= City of Mecklenburg).
This coin was part of a treasure trove of over a hundred coins found in 1906 during the ploughing of a field in Bunkeflo in Malmö, Skåne.
