In March, we remember one of the most significant events in our history, the revolution and freedom battle of 1848-1849. In the Object of the month series, the Szekler Museum of Ciuc presents a couple of objects that evoke the spirit of this era, help preserve the past, traditions, understand our history and, through all of this, help cultivate national feeling and belonging.
The group of jewelries represents a separate chapter of the historical collection of the Szekler Museum of Ciuc, among whose pieces we find a silver bracelet made of 6-Kreuzer coins from 1849 (ref.B36), a silver brooch made of 20-Kreuzer coins from 1848 (ref.B19), as well as earrings (ref.B42). These coins were minted on the basis of the decree of Lajos Kossuth, during the revolution, in the mint of Baia Mare and Kremnica, being exchange coins of the Kossuth banknotes.
The coins of the revolution and freedom struggle of 1848-49 are the coins that were minted in Hungary and Croatia during the revolution, based on the decree of Lajos Kossuth, as the change money of the Kossuth Bank. The coins were minted in the Nagybánya and Körmöcbánya mints, the coins bear the letters "N.B." and "K.B." a traditional Hungarian mint note is included. According to Mária Terézia's alphabetical system of 1766, Nagybánya's mintmark was "G" while Körmöcbánya's was "B".
The coins of the revolution and freedom battle of 1848-49 are the coins that were minted in Hungary and Croatia during the revolution, based on the decree of Lajos Kossuth, as exchange coins of the Kossuth notes. They were made in the mints of Baia Mare and Kremnica and bear the letters "N.B." and "K.B." traditional Hungarian insignia. According to Maria Theresa's 1766 alphabetic system, the Baia Mare mint mark was "G", while the Kremnica mint mark was "B".
After the defeat of the war of independence, these pieces of jewelry made of silver coins with a patriotic touch had become really fashionable in historical Hungary. The women belonging to the wealthier bourgeois class wore bracelets, brooches and earrings made in the spirit of patriotism and resistance against absolutism, as on them you can see the much-loved coat of arms of the crown (the one with 6 Kreuzer) or the patron saint of Hungary, the Virgin Mary with the Child (on the 20 Kreuzer) and not much the so hated double-headed eagle. We also find similar bracelets in the collections of the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu and the Dezső Laczkó Museum in Veszprém.
Unfortunately, the origin of the jewels in the mentioned collection of the museum is unknown, we do not know how they came into the property of the institution, who were their previous owners. They were not included in the first inventory register of 1930, so we can assume that they were acquired after the institutionalization of the museum in 1950, by donation, purchase or confiscation (this was a common method in the past system for objects containing elements of Hungarian history). They appear in the register dated from the 1960s with an inventory number and with incomplete data (object description, origin, era, etc.) During the years of communism, scientific processing, communication and display of museum objects reminiscent of Hungarian history was not allowed. So these objects remained "obeyed and guarded with fear" on the shelves of the warehouse.
