Wiener Pfennig

Wiener Pfennig (Viennese Pfennig), coin emerging from the Kremser Pfennig (from around 1110/1120). Around 1193/1194 Leopold V had the Babenberg mint moved from Krems (thus: Kremser Pfennig) to Vienna. The annual "Münzverruf", the forging of old valueless coins in order to give them the appearance of new ones, was a special feature of the classical Wiener Pfennig period, which lasted until the 80s of the 14^th century. It was responsible for the enormous abundance of images on the Wiener Pfennig coins. The Wiener Pfennig was widely used in the 14^th century (Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary, Salzburg, Upper Bavaria, Styria, Carinthia); the first half of the 15^th century was characterised by runaway inflation ("Schinderlingszeit" period around 1455: 1 Goldgulden = 240 Wiener Pfennig coins, 1460: 3,600 Wiener Pfennig coins). The Wiener Pfennig was later replaced by the Goldgulden with the Groschen and silver Kreuzer coins as smaller denominations; the Pfennig itself was only used as the smallest token coin.

Literature: B. Koch, Beiträge zur Münz- und Geldgeschichte Österreichs im Mittelalter, 1972; Geld, 800 Jahre Münzstätte Wien, exhibition catalogue, Vienna 1994.