Εκκλησιαστική φώλλα από το Διδυμότειχο
Part of : Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στη Θράκη ; Vol.5, No.1, 1991, pages 527-533
Issue:
Pages:
527-533
Parallel Title:
Ecclesiastic folla from Didymoteicho
Author:
Abstract:
Found at Didymoteicho, during excavations near the church of St Catherine, this «coin» is a witness, among a very limited number of findings of this category, of the financial activity of some Greek communities, which were part of the Ottoman Empire until the beginning of 20th century. The Ottoman Empire having being brought to the brink of bankruptcy in 1880, withdrew the bronze coins from circulation. As a result, an acute shortage of small change prevailed throughout the Empire, causing difficulties in the minute transactions of the everyday life. The Orthodox, Armenian communities as well as somesynagogues and commercial organizations faced this situation either by issuing local tokens (metal or paper) or by countermarking old bronze coins and using them at reduced rates. These unofficial coins, the folles, circulated within a limited area; the village where the church or the municipality had issued or countermarked them. Concidering the initial letters of this finding ΑΘ/ΣΑΛ/10, its provenance and the limited circulation of such specimens, the writer of this article assumes that this ecclesiastic folia can be attributed to the nearby village of Lavara, known under the Turkish name Saltiki. Its prosperous financial situation together with the efforts of its church committee created a favourable clima for a flourishing educational activity in the second half of 19th century. The proposed data is 1880-1910/15.The difficulty for attribution of this folia with certainty to Saltiki is quite obvious, due to the lack of relevant written sources; beside it is difficult for most of the local tokens and counter stamps to conclude from which village they originate. But their importance remains big, as they reveal an interesting aspect of the attention and care of the Orthodox communities to remain vivid in difficult times
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Subject (LC):
Keywords:
Διδυμότειχο, συνέδρια
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