Currency money
A Kurantmünze (older spelling: Courantmün (t ) ze French courant " running" ) is a " full-fledged, peripheral, viable, circulating " coins whose nominal value is (nearly) fully covered by the metal of which it is composed. In particular, the Kurantmünze stands in contrast to the fractional currency, the notional amount is not covered by their metal value. The nominal value of Kurantmünzen was officially defined until the suspension of the gold or silver standards during the first third of the 20th century over a monetary standard, ie directly by the contained amount of noble metal per coin. Kurantmünzen usually made of silver or gold, exceptionally platinum metals or copper. Small deviations of the prescribed amount of noble metal - such as wear or a percentage low seigniorage in favor of the minting authority - were often accepted.
All Kurantmünzen are commodity money - unlike coins, paper money and the book, all of which are credit money. The usual term cash always referred to before 1915 in Germany only on Kurantmünzen. Kurantmünzen how coins are Mint.
General
Prerequisite for the issuance of Kurantmünzen was a big time value resistance of the material used. Under no circumstances it should be so easily be multiplied, such as paper; desired was a general acceptance, aesthetics, propaganda function, divisibility in sub- nominal, mechanical strength and corrosion resistance as well as high value density. Many alloys of precious metals gold and silver meet for centuries as a coin or bullion money these conditions.
A Kurantmünze officially employed is a unlimited legal tender in their area. This means that they must be accepted in any amount in satisfaction of a money debt ( " debt for liberation" ) by the creditor.
Normally Kurantmünzen were " wholesome ", ie embossed with a statutory content of precious metal. These rules are historically referred to as the monetary standard. Thus, under the monetary standard of the Vienna Münzvertrags of 1857 that exactly 30 simple Vereinstaler of a pound of fine silver (500 g) are marked. A full Kuranttaler thus contained 16.7 g of nearly pure silver.
Some persons authorized to mint and institutions, the Coin Lords, not stopped at the prescribed standard of coinage and brought " unterwertige " coins with a lower content of precious metal out. They could therefore be produced with a smaller quantity of precious metal a greater amount of coins. Either so began a gradual process of conversion of the corresponding Münznominals in a small coin, or the monetary standard was officially adapted to the changed character.
Deviations in the precious metal content of a Kurantmünze could be other reasons as fraudulent intentions of the minting authority. Thus, the normal attrition reduced circulating the precious metal content of the coin. Noble metal was sometimes also from the edge of the coins filed or otherwise removed material (see also Passiergewicht ).
A more complicated case is when the actual weight measure of the monetary standard changes over time or differs between different mints. This was the case, which was the monetary standard multiple Münzwährungen basis, for example, the Cölnische Mark. So the Cölnische Mark had in Cologne a mass of 233.8123 g, 233.95 g of Bavaria and Prussia of 233.8555 g This was a problem because the rich uniform Münzfüße about the Imperial thaler and the guilder were bezigen.
On " approbation days," which were held for the territory of the old German Empire, such differences were found. Coins which have only small differences were regarded each other as fully valid. They have been in business reviewed but at a discount or at a premium compared to Münznominal or for bill coin. These differences in the precious metals content ( " purity " ) of the various coins were held in Valvationstabellen.
Kurantmünzen have such coins a natural course, which results from their " inner " metal value. In addition, they have the time of their validity in a specific area usually a statutory compulsory course: they had to be adopted in each area as a means of payment at fixed rates.
In the literature from about 1920 and in the bank vernacular occasionally all " circulating " coins, including coins, called " Kurantmünzen ".
Kurantmünzbeispiel 20 Goldmark Germany 1871-1915
According to the law of 4 December 1871 "Law concerning the expression of Reichsgoldmünzen ", the alloy and tolerances ( Remendium ) and the Passiergewicht for the 10 were in several § § the monetary standard, - and 20 -Mark gold coins been defined:
Münfuß: 69 3/4 pieces of 1 pound (500 g) Feingold ( theoretically corresponds to 7.16845 g of fine gold per 20 Mark coin )
Alloy: 900 parts pure gold and 100 parts of copper
( Manufacturing ) Tolerances: 2 / 1,000 parts by weight fine, and 2,5 / 1000 parts by weight of roughness
Passiergewicht: 5 / 1,000 parts by weight of roughness
Coins that weighed below the Passiergewichtes, no longer needed to be exchanged in perfect weighty coins at the expense of the Empire of the German Reich cash. In practice, this nonetheless be made if they had no damage - were so worn only slightly more by the revolution.
Many traders and merchants led at that time still a small, collapsible coin scales, often equipped with a diameter gauge, for weight and diameter control for 5 -, 10 - and 20 -Mark gold coins with him.
History
At the time of Kurantgeldes were coins whose metal value was usually much lower than called its nominal value coins; other names were also country or city coins, which was at least for the small face value, were not strong after the prescribed Reichsfuß. Among the coins were not only bronze and copper coins, but also many silver coins whose metal value was reduced by alloying with copper in some cases considerably compared to their nominal value. This silver-copper alloy having less than 50 % silver called Billon. The time of pure Kurantmünzenwährung can be set to about 1570, where the small coin types were still almost fully satisfying - apart from a tiny Remendium of about 3 to 6%, which was used to cover the relatively raised embossed effort.
From ancient times to the First World War the Kurantmünzen came to a very great importance. They were coined almost always made of gold ( gold coin ) or silver ( silver coin ). In Russia at the beginning of the 19th century were also ducat coins at 3, 6 and 12 rubles of platinum in circulation. Later platinum coins were mostly reductions of circulating ( gold ) coins or gold-plated counterfeits at a time as platinum even less value than gold had. In Sweden the 18th century, there were copper plate coins with considerable weight from one to several times the nominal dollars, since the much cheaper copper had to cover the coin value and coin silver was scarce. The large and heavy copper Russian 1/4- to 5 - kopeck pieces ( Pjataks ) and the English 1 - and 2 -pence coin ( Cartwheel Penny) of the late 18th century could be considered almost as " Kleinkupferkurantmünzen " because they replaced the former much smaller silver nominal and initially should be no coins.
Until 1872 German Silberkurantmünzen had in their character in addition to the nominal currency denomination almost always an additional indication of their weight, for example 1 Thaler, 30 ( piece = counting measure ) a pound fine ( it silver). Gold ( kurant ) coins usually had no weight.
Larger payments were always agreed upon before 1871, specifying the Kurantwährung in the Treaties, such as " Prussian Courant " or " Friedrich d'or ". Did you try to replace with a small coin Kurantschuld, premium was mostly due. This was especially true in repayments in foreign small change, but also common in banknotes.
Silver was the principal currency metal, one speaks of a silver standard currency and the parallel circulating gold coins were mostly trade coins with a fluctuating course, which was mostly premium. However, the gold was the currency of metal, the silver was almost always small coin. In a relatively short period to 1865-1875, there were in Germany and in the Latin Monetary Union bimetallism, that is, gold and silver were relatively stable in value almost in the ratio 1: 15.5, so that gold and silver for several years at the same time equal Kurantmünzen were; But then the price of silver fell.
In Germany were all large ( coarse ) Silver Coins Kurantmünzen and the most up to 1/6 Taler down in 1871, the gold marks until the introduction. The last German Kurantgroschen was the Saxon penny in 13-1/3-Talerfuß from 1827 with the stamp " 24 a dollar, 320 fine Mark ."
The German gold currency from 1871 to 1907 is due to the circulation of dollars parallel with the 10 - sometimes referred and 20 -Mark gold coins as the " gold standard ".
Simple Vereinstaler retained their Kurantgeld property still up to its demonetization in 1907, de jure. The silver coins in Mark currency of the Empire, however, were accepted from the beginning coins and had only up to a maximum of 20 marks; for penny coins was just a Mark as limited adoption coercion.
In the Latin Monetary Union in addition to the gold coins only the silver 5 - franc coins in 1870 were practical and de jure Kurantmünzen. Here you can certainly see a parallel to the German thaler. The rest of the silver coins from 2 francs down expelled from a relatively lower fineness - like the silver cord pieces, about a 10 % lower relative to the fineness mark- value had as the ( Kurant ) dollars.
The terms " Kurant and fractional currency " were avoided in the official language since about 1871, but are still in use in Austrian law.
The last German Kurantgeld were the 20 - and 10 - mark pieces that were (see Goldmark ) still in circulation until about August 1914. The still dominated in 1915 golden Prussian 20 Mark coin was no longer in circulation.
Be distinguished from Kurantgeld is the bank money that there were parallel to the circumferential Kurantgeld in various German territories, which had a deviating value. Thus existed in Hamburg in 1725, and until 1871/74 in addition to the Hamburg Kurant Mark ( or Mark Courant ) that the commerce reserved for Mark Banco, which had a higher value by about a quarter, with the same nominal value. The two currencies had another no fixed conversion rate despite having the same territory subject.
Only from the January 1, 1910 were in the German Empire banknotes as payment with unlimited discharging effect. This also applies to today's euro banknotes. Already in the 19th century in Prussia demanded in tax payments with cash to the state a certain percentage of state paper money. Otherwise penalty was due. This situation forced the citizens to accept banknotes, although yes Kurantgeld was usually unlimited discharging the debt. This state coercion should bring about the introduction of ( covered below ) Money surrogate to the citizen, what its cause was ultimately in the national debt. However, paper money had and still has its advantages, eg with regard to the weight. For example, to pay a sum of 1000 thalers in cash, approximately 18 kg of silver had to be transported.
What about now?
Today is the value of coin - and even bank notes - which are used as an official means of payment, usually no longer covered by their material value. Also, the means of payment are no longer exchangeable for a specified price on demand in precious metals. These are credit and no longer Kurantgeld (see also fiat money ). Manufacturing cost and the material value of coins are not the same. A good example was the last German 1 pfennig coin about 2 penny cost to manufacture, but clearly was in material value under a penny. In Kurantmünzen the relatively low production costs and Beilegierungskosten were previously neglected, however, in comparison to the high nominal value of Kurantmünze; they were of gold coins well below 1% and in the valleys a maximum of 3 %. See also seigniorage or seigniorage.
In modern bullion coins that are offered at the bank, it is not Kurantmünzen, since they are not marked for payments, but for investors ( bullion coins) or collector. They usually carry a nominal specify a currency, but which is significantly lower than their ( gold, platinum ) material value. A small change over the years, can be quite slow to develop into a " Kurantmünze " Inflation and / or metal price increases, which then different countries ( aluminum instead vormaliger copper alloy), fineness reductions or smaller coin dimensions met by eliminating the smallest Münznominale, Münzmaterialverbilligung. Examples: abolition of the British Farthings (1/4 d) from 1957, eliminating the 1 - and 2- centime pieces in Switzerland, conversion of 5 -shilling coins of silver to copper - nickel in Austria from 1968, conversion of 5 DM Mint sets of silver on nickel core with copper - nickel clad in 1975.