By Mike Markowitz with Charles Morgan for CoinWeek …..
On February 11, 2025, Czech videogame developer Warhorse Studios will release the much anticipated sequel to their 2018 action roleplaying game Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The game, set in 15th-century Bohemia, follows the events of the war between King Wenceslaus IV and Sigismund, then King of Hungary. For the sequel, Warhorse Studios will continue the story of the first game and offer players an even richer and more realistic experience, including an expanded map that brings the medieval city of Kutná Hora to life as well as a large playable area in the Bohemian countryside.
This realism is front and center in both games, with local customs, clothing, and architecture well-researched and faithfully presented. Even the game’s economic system is based on the coinage of the period – and gamers might be surprised to know that many of these coins are affordable and collectible. In this article, CoinWeek Ancients writer Mike Markowitz provides an important overview of those coins and the historical events surrounding their issue. This deep lore undoubtedly will elevate one’s understanding of the game upon its release.
Bohemia and Kutná Hora Through the 15th Century
Ringed by mountains and threaded by rivers, Bohemia lies in the heart of Central Europe. Beginning in the sixth century, Slavic ancestors of the modern Czechs migrated into this fertile land. By the 10th century, the population was mostly Christianized, and a powerful kingdom–the “Lands of the Bohemian Crown”–emerged in the 13th century. The Bohemian crown was elective (by the nobles), and the king of Bohemia was often also ruler of neighboring German, Polish, Hungarian, or Austrian lands.
A rich silver mine at Kutná Hora (Kuttenberg in German; 54 km/32 miles east of Prague) provided bullion for a successful coinage, the Prager Groschen that circulated widely in Central Europe. Introduced in the reign of Wenceslaus II (c. 1300-1305), the coin initially weighed 3.5 to 3.7 grams with silver content over 93%. Unskilled laborers typically earned one groschen per day; skilled craftsmen might earn two. By the end of the century, the coin was down to 2.7 to 2.9 grams and was only about 61% silver (Frynas, 21). Minor coinage was provided by small crudely struck single-sided heller, so-called “black money”, with less than 25% silver. Fourteen hellers exchanged for one groschen.
In 1415, Czech scholar and priest Jan Hus was burned at the stake for heresy at the Council of Konstanz[1] in southern Germany. Influenced by English church reformer John Wyclif (c. 1327-1384), Hus had denounced the wealth and corruption of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, advocated translation of the Scriptures into the language of the common people, and insisted that Communion be offered to the faithful in both bread and wine (in Catholic doctrine, only priests receive the wine that becomes the Blood of Christ in the Mass).
On July 30, 1419, a Hussite priest led an angry mob to storm the Town Hall in the Bohemian capital, demanding the release of some prisoners. A judge, the mayor, and some town councilors were thrown to their deaths from a high window. This “First Defenestration of Prague” is considered the outbreak of the Hussite Wars, which wracked Bohemia and surrounding lands for decades.
Wenceslaus IV
Wenceslaus IV[2] became King of Bohemia on the death of his father, German Emperor Karl IV[3], one of the most powerful European monarchs of his time. Wenceslaus (Wenzel in German, Václav in Czech) reigned from 1387 to his death in 1419. He was also Duke of Luxembourg and titular “King of Germany” from 1376 to 1400 (failing to obtain election as Holy Roman Emperor). A weak ruler, he was often in conflict with Bohemian nobles and his younger half-brother Sigismund, King of Hungary. Wenceslaus supported the religious reforms of Hus and his followers, but after he died in 1419, events quickly spiraled out of control.
Wenceslaus issued rare undated gold florins (gulden in German) from the mint of Prague, and a rare gold gulden[4] from Auerbach in Franconia (today part of the German state of Sachsen), which he controlled. On the obverse, St. Wenceslaus holds a banner and a shield emblazoned with the imperial eagle. The Latin inscription (“Wenceslaus, by the Grace of God”) continues on the reverse (“King of Bohemia and the Romans”) which bears the heraldic lion of Bohemia. Used mainly for foreign trade in luxury goods, gold coinage did not circulate much in Bohemia.
Wenceslaus issued silver groschen from the mint of Kutná Hora. The obverse bears a stylized crown surrounded by the royal name and title in two concentric lines. On the reverse the coin identifies itself: GROSSI PRAGENSES (groschen of Prague) inscribed around the Bohemian lion[5]. The same mint issued a debased heller weighing just a fraction of a gram that bears the king’s facing crowned head on the obverse[6].
Sigismund
Wenceslaus died without an heir on August 16, 1419. Sigismund claimed the Bohemian crown, but Bohemian nobles, angered by the execution of Hus, refused to accept him and revolted. Sigismund’s complicity in the death of the priest is debated by historians. He had granted Hus safe conduct and protested against his imprisonment, but Church authorities insisted that promises to heretics were invalid.
As King of Hungary, Sigismund issued gold coins[7] from several mints to finance his war against the Hussites, notably Kremnitz (Körmöcbánya in Hungarian; today Kremnica, Slovakia). His coins bear the Bohemian lion quartered with the arms of Hungary, asserting his claim. Knowledge of heraldry (the study of coats of arms) is useful in medieval numismatics!
From the mint of Breslau[8] in Silesia, Sigismund issued a tiny (0.26 gram) anonymous silver heller, bearing the head of John the Baptist (the city’s patron saint) on the obverse, and the standard Bohemian lion on the reverse[9].
With the encouragement of Pope Martin V (Oddone Colonna, Pope from 1417 to 1431), Sigismund led a series of failed “Crusades” against the Hussites. In 1420, Sigismund invaded Bohemia and captured Prague, where he was crowned. Led by the brilliant military commander Jan Žižka, the invasion was defeated by a largely peasant army inspired by religious zeal, using innovative tactics based on a mobile fortress of circled wagons packed with crossbowmen and gunners. Successive invasions in 1421, 1422, 1426, 1427, and 1431 met with similar repulses, and Hussite armies launched successful raids into enemy territory. Following the death of Žižka in 1424, leadership passed to Prokop the Bald (c. 1380-1434). According to legend, Žižka’s dying wish was that his skin be made into drums, so he could continue to lead his troops.
In 1420, Hussites established a community at Tábor[10], 70 km (43 miles) south of Prague, named for the Biblical Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew, 17:1-3). The radical wing of the Hussites was called “Taborites”. The more conservative faction, who sought compromise with the Catholic Church, were called “Utraquists” (from the Latin word utraque (“both together”), a reference to their insistence on Communion in both bread and wine).
The Hussites
The Hussites controlled Prague, while control over the silver mines of Kutna Hora frequently changed hands. The Hussites initially minted Prague groschen, pfennigs, and hellers from confiscated Church silver. These… used the same designs as coins of Wenceslaus IV and it is not possible today to distinguish them from coins minted before 1420. When the silver ran out, the Hussites minted copper groschen and copper pfennigs (Czech flutek, plural flutky)… (Frynas, 22)
Engaged in a war of survival, the Hussites had limited resources for minting coins, especially after the sack of Kutná Hora by imperial troops in 1422. Most of the Hussite coinage consists of the crude single-sided heller[11] in debased silver and the tiny (0.3 g) copper flutek[12]. These frequently appear in central European numismatic auctions and are inexpensive today.
Albert
The Austrian duke Albert married Elisabeth, daughter of King Sigismund, in 1421 and supported his campaigns against the Hussites. When Sigismund died without an heir in 1437, Albert claimed the Hungarian and Bohemian crowns.
In 1439, Albert died of plague on campaign against the Turks, and four months later his wife bore a son, “Ladislaus the Posthumous”(Ladislav Pohrobek in Czech), who became a VIP hostage of his relative Frederick III of Habsburg, who ruled in his name.
Released in 1452, young Ladislaus was crowned as king of Hungary and Bohemia in 1453, with a Bohemian noble, George of Podiebrad, the son of a Hussite leader, serving as regent.
George of Podiebrad
When Ladislaus died suddenly from leukemia on November 23, 1457, George of Podiebrad[13] (Czech: Jirí z Podebrad) became Bohemian king. He ruled until he died in 1471. As a boy of 14, he fought on the side of the moderate Utraquists[14] when they defeated the radical Taborites at the Battle of Lipany (June 16, 1434). George resumed the issue of silver groschen at Kutná Hora[15], as well as anonymous single-sided hellers bearing an image of the Bohemian Crown[16].
A capable and moderate ruler, George maintained the independence of Bohemia during the complex dynastic struggles of the 15th century. The majority of the Czech people accepted moderate Hussite beliefs, and this continued until the Habsburg empire crushed a Bohemian revolt at the Battle of White Mountain[17] (November 8, 1620) and enforced Roman Catholic orthodoxy.
Jan Hus
A Czech national hero, Jan Hus has been commemorated on numerous coins and medallions. In 1615, two centuries after his death, a silver medal was struck. Copied and recopied in various alloys for further centuries, it bears the head of the martyred cleric on the obverse and a dramatic image of him tied to the stake on the reverse[18]
In 1965, on the 550th anniversary of his death, the Czech Republic issued a silver 10 koruna Proof coin[19] with his youthful portrait on the obverse and the Bohemian lion on the reverse. In 1999, Pope John Paul II expressed “deep regret for the cruel death” inflicted on Hus, and praised his “moral courage.” July 6, the anniversary of Hus’s martyrdom, is a public holiday in the Czech Republic.
Collecting the Hussites
The standard history of the Hussite Wars in English is Lützow (1914). Francis Lützow (1849-1916), an Austrian diplomat and historian, was a “tireless champion of Bohemian independence.” Numismatic literature on the Hussite era is mainly written in Czech and German; the standard reference in English is Frynas (2015).
Coins of this period mainly appear in Central European auctions. The firm of Macho & Chlapovič[20], located in Bratislava, Slovakia, has particularly strong expertise in Bohemian numismatics.
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Notes
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Constance
[2] Not the “Good King Wenceslaus” of the English Christmas carol, who was the martyred Duke of Bohemia from 921 to 935, later venerated as a saint.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
[4] Sincona Auction 33, October 25, 2016, Lot 2037. Realized CHF 22,000 (about $22,082 USD; estimate CHF 15,000).
[5] Tauler & Fau Auction 105, March 1, 2022, Lot 4331. Realized €260 (about $290 USD; estimate €80).
[6] Macho & Chlapovič, Auction 33, April 28, 2024, Lot 714. Realized €80 (about $86 USD; estimate €40).
[7] Macho & Chlapovič, Auction 3, October 20, 2012, Lot 6. Realized €800 (about $1,042USD; estimate €500).
[8] Then part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, today Wrocław, Poland. Borders change a lot in eastern Europe!
[9] Katz Coins, E-auction 126, May 18, 2024, Lot 102. Realized €50 (about $54 USD; estimate €5).
[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A1bor
[11] Solidus Numismatic Auction 123, July 25, 2023, Lot 227. Realized €21 (about $23 USD; estimate €15).
[12] Antium Aurum Auction XVII, October 10, 2022, Lot 1011. Realized €8 (about $8 USD; estimate €5).
[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_of_Pod%C4%9Bbrady
[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utraquism
[15] Macho & Chlapovič, Auction 18, May 3, 2019, Lot 2127. Realized €100 (about $112 USD; estimate €15).
[16] Macho & Chlapovič, Auction 30, April 21, 2023, Lot 1283. Realized €30 (about $33 USD; estimate €30).
[17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_White_Mountain
[18] Stack’s New York Auction, January 13, 2023, Lot 40609. Realized $60 USD, (estimate $100-$200).
[19] Katz Coins, E-Auction 133, July 24, 2024, Lot 747. Realized €115 (about $125 USD; estimate €5).
[20] https://machochlapovic.com/en/about-us
References
Frassetto, Michael. Heretic Lives: Medieval Heresy from Bogomil and the Cathars to Wyclif and Hus. London (2007)
Frynas, George. Medieval Coins of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland. London (2015)
Klassen, John. “Hus, the Hussites and Bohemia”, The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 7. Cambridge (2008)
Lützow, Francis. The Hussite Wars. London (1914)
Grierson, Philip. Coins of Medieval Europe. London (1991)
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. Atlas of the Crusades. New York (1991)
Spufford, Peter. Money and Its Use in Medieval Europe. Cambridge (1988)
Walker, Ralph S. Reading Medieval European Coins. Fairfield, CT (2009)
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