44

APPENDIX CENTRAL EUROPEAN SILVER PRODUCTION IN THE AGE OF THE SAIGERPROZESS (Figure A-1)

The acute international bi-metallic monetary crisis occasioned by the flood of American silver and gold, which poured forth during the years 1857-1898 from the Nevada workings of the Comstock Lode, resulted in the production of what was probably the finest body of economic literature of the nineteenth century. Amongst the ranks of writers on this subject were economists, members of the German School, who maintaining a historical perspective, attempted to analyse the effects of secular changes in the production of precious metals on world monetary systems. In this context Adolph Soetbeer produced his magisterial work, providing the first careful statistical analysis of Central European silver and gold production in the period 1470-1570 as part of a time-series extending from the discovery of America to the present-day (i.e. 1879).1 According to his estimates aggregate Central European silver production rose to about 150,214 marks (35,000 kg) a year on average in the period 1493-1520 and reached a maximum output of 201,716 marks (47,000 kg) a year in 1520-1544 before declining thereafter. Subsequently, John Nef suggested that Soetbeers figures seriously underestimated production in the new German-Bohemian mines.2 His new estimate suggested that maximum output was achieved in 1526-1535 at a level of some 391,416 marks (91,200 kg) a year. Latterly these figures have been called into question as historians, have undertaken detailed archival studies of each of the major Central European production regions- Saxony and Bohemia (Bogsch and Laube, Schenk and Ko an respectively), Slovakia (Vlachovi ) and Thringia and the 3 Alpenlands (Westermann). On the basis of this data John Munro constructed a new aggregate series. 4 This again suggests that production, rising steadily from 55,678 marks (12,972 kg) a year in 1471-1475 attained a peak output in ca 1540 of 225,429 marks (52,525 kg) before falling to 181,845 marks (42,371 kg) a year in the period 1541-1550 (Figure A1). Alternative figures are provided below for Central European silver production in the Age of the Saigerprozess, 1470-1570 (Appendix chapter 1); Other European production by other technologies than the Saigerprozess (Appendix chapter 2) and American silver production (Appendix chapter 3). The former set of
1

Adolph Georg Soetbeer, Edelmetall-produktion und Werthverhltniss zwischen Gold und Silber seit der Entdeckung Amerika's bis zur Gegenwart (Gotha: Petermanns Mitteilungen. Ergnzungsheft, 57/3, 1879), pp. 1-141 2 John Nef, Silver Production in Central Europe, 1450-1618, Journal of Political Economy, XLIX (1941), pp. 575-591 and the same authors Mining and Metallurgy in Medieval Civilisation in M. M. Postan and E. E Rich (eds.) The Cambridge Economic History of Europe , vol. 2, Trade and Industry in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, Revised Edition, 1987), pp. 691-761. 3 See sections 1-5 below 4 John H Munro, The Monetary Origins of the Price Revolution: South German Silver Mining, Merchant Banking and Venetian Commerce, 1470-1540 in D. O. Flynn, A. Girldez and R von Glahn (eds), Global Connections and Monetary History, 1470-1800 (Aldershot, 2003), pp 1-34

45

figures, encompassing a broader range of mine statistics, is in the long-term, slightly above that of Professor Munro. Output rose from 57,569 marks (13,413 kg) a year in 1471-1475 to 240,155 marks (55,956 kg) a year in 1536-1540 before falling to 87,706 marks (20,435 kg) a year in 1565-1569. Both data sets are, however, much closer to Soetbeers figures than to Nefs estimates.

Figure A1. Central European Silver Production, 1470-1570

Cologne marks 300000

250000

200000 Munro 150000

100000 Below

50000

0 1470 1475 1480 1485 1490 1495 1500 1505 1510 1515 1520 1525 1530 1535 1540 1545 1550 1555 1560 1565

46

1 ALPENLANDS
(Maps 1.1 and A1-1, figure A1/B1) The metalliferous zone of the Alpenlands comprising Tirol, Brixen, Trentino, Salzburg, Steiermarck and Krnten as well as the lands of the Venetian Alps, which are dealt with in chapter 2, encompassed an enormous number of mines of both precious and base metals. Amongst their number, however, one- the Falkenstein mine, near Schwaz-reigned supreme in the sphere of silver production. Activity here commenced in ca. 1446 but for slightly more than twenty years the argentiferous copper deposits of the Falkenstein mine remained subordinate to the silver-lead ones of Brixen (Gossensass, Sterzing, Klausen, Terlen and Schneeberg). With the diffusion of the new techniques, however, it went from strength to strength. Already in ca. 1500, when the industry organised into twenty corporations each with its own smelter employed 7,000 miners, it produced 40,000 marks of Brandsilber a year. Yet this was still below the initial peak production levels of 1486 and far short of the 55,800 marks which would be achieved in 1523. 1523 indeed marked the high point of activity at the mine and thereafter production steadily declined to finally collapse after 15751576 (See table A1-B1). From 1540 other centres began to challenge its position. Most notable amongst these, during the period under consideration here, were the mines of the Kitzbhel and Roxenbhel districts, the former district alone producing ca 18,500 marks of silver a year in 1547 1. Falkenstein, near Schwaz in the Tirol, Table A1-B1. Silver and Copper Production at Falkenstein, near Schwaz in the Tirol, 1470-1570
Date 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 1481 1482 1483 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 Silver Production (marks) Annual Decc. average 12,232 8,153 18,009 16,995 17,720 18,286 = 20,337 24,746 30,938 30,267 26,509 27,490 27,935 37,159 48,097 32,576 49,882= 52,663 44,466 41,589
a b

Copper Production (zentner) Annual Decc. average 4,281 2,854 6,303 5,949 6,202 6,400= 7,135 8,661 10,829 10,593 9,278 9,662 9,778 13,006 16,834 11,402 19,953= 21,065 17,787 16,636

Yield Marks/zentner

2.85

15,136

15,136

2.64

47

Date 1489 1490 1491 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500 1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539

Silver Production (marks) Annual Decc. average 38,087 41,565 44,100 43,815 39,627 41,091 41,323= 38,674 42,418 42,086 38,705 41,643 44,498 43,378 38,216 32,905 31,468= 34,263 32,523 31,169 39,356 38,770 39,405 44,129 46,731 42,445 50,146= 51,691 46,057 42,542 38,443 39,277 35,458 38,776 55,855 49,977 47,875= 40,233 40,394 38,081 36,322 35,731 36,448 41,521 38,646 40,643 36,475= 35,999 21,984 24,256 30,832

Copper Production (zentner) Annual Decc. average 15,235 16,526 17,640 17,526 15,851 16,437 16,529= 15,470 16,967 16,834 15,482 16,652 17,999 17,352 15,251 13,162 12,587= 13,659 13,010 12,468 15,742 15,508 15,762 17,652 18,692 16,978 20,058= 20,667 18,423 17,017 15,377 15,711 14,183 15,510 22,342 19,991 19,150= 16,089 16,158 15,232 14,529 14,293 14,579 16,608 15,459 16,256 14,590= 14,440 8,794 9,703 12,333

Yield Marks/zentner

41,340

16,536

2.5

36,942

14,768

2.5

44,036

17,615

2.5

42,225

16,890

2.5

34,256

13,701

2.5

48
a b c

Date 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548 1549 1550 1551 1552 1553 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1559 1560 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569

Silver Production (marks) Annual Decc. average 30,597 29,005 28,016 25,547 27,876 27,142= 27,347 26,691 24,861 26,796 26,937 29,804 26,930 26,413 30,317 24,026 20,055= 23,652 23,704 22,784 24,196 23,216 25,672 24,924 20,815 17,518 18,614= 17,474 17,367 18,281 18,355

Copper Production (zentner) Annual Decc. average 12,239 11,602 11,207 10,219 11,151 10,857= 10,937 10,677 9,927 10,718 10,775 11,922 10,722 10,565 12,127 9,610 8,022= 9,461 9,482 9,114 9,668 8,242 9,114 8,848 7,389 6,219 6,604= 6,203 6,165 6,490 6.509

Yield Marks/zentner

2.5

25,184

10,069

2.5

20,222

7,178

2.82

TECHNOLOGY AND METROLOGY: (a) Brandsilver, which on refining to fine silver lost ten per cent of its weight (b) 1 mark=280 grams (c) Wiener zentner = 56 kg. =123.46 lbs SILVER AND COPPER PRODUCTION: On production at Falkenstein during these years see for 1470-1491 S. Worms, Schwazer Bergbau im 15. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrge zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte (Wien, 1905), p.173. The data in Worms study is derived from register 3078 in the kk.court library, Wien and presented on the basis of an accounting year beginning at Christmas. For the period 1491-1536 see A. Jger, Beitrge zur Tirolisch-Salzburgischen Bergwerks-Geschichte, Archiv fr osterreichische Geschichte , Bd.53 (1875), pp. 431-436, which duplicates and extends Worms series. These series of silver output may also be supplemented with regards silver and copper by reference to E. Egg, Das Wirtschaftswunder in silberen Schwaz. Der Silber-, Fahlerzbergbau Falkenstein im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert, Leobener Grne Heft, 31 (Wien, 1958), pp. 12, 20, 24 and 26 which presents deccennial averages of silver and copper production derived from two registers in the Innsbruck Landesregierungs-archiv: (a) Leopoldina Litt. S. nr.102. Register of total silver and copper production delivered by the mining corporations 1470-1605 (b) Pestarchiv XIV, nr. 897. Register of yearly production of silver delivered by the mining Corporations, 1470-1623

49

The studies of Worms, Jger and Egg, together with that of M. von Isser Gaudenthurm, Schwazer Bergbaugeschichte, Berg- und Httenmnnisches Jahrbuch der kk. montanistische Hochschule zu Leoben und Pribram, Bd. 52 (1904) and Bd.53 (1905), have, however, now been superseded by the critical edition of the production data by E. Westermann who, by carefully collating all copies of the production figures and subjecting them to critical scrutiny in Zur Brandsilber- und Kupferproduktion des Falkenstein bei Schwaz 1470-1623. Eine Kritik bisheriger Ermittlungen von Produktionziffern, Tiroler Heimat, 50 (1986), pp. 109-125; Sammlung Stephan Worms im Haus- Hof- und Staatarchiv Wien- Eine Fundgrube fr Montanhistoriker, Der Anschnitt, XXXVIII, 1 (1986) and ber Beobachtungen und Erfahrhungen bei der Vorbereitung der Edition einer vorindustriellen Produktionsstatistik. Zur Brandsilberproduktion des Falkenstein bei Schwaz/Tirol von 1470-1623 in E. Westermann (ed.), Quantifizierungsprobleme bei der Erforschung der Montanwirtschaft des 15. bis 18. Jahrhundert (henceforth cited as Quantifizierungsprobleme), (St. Katherinen, 1988), pp.27-42, has produced what must be the definitive edition of the production statistics- Die Listen der Brandsilberproduktion des Falkenstein bei Schwaz/Tirol von 1470-1623. Kommentar und Edition, Leobener Grne Heft, 7 (Wien, 1987). The deccennial average annual silver output figures above are calculated from annual figures and differ slightly from those in E. Egg, Das Wirtschaftswunder in silberen Schwaz. Der Silber-, Fahlerzbergbau Falkenstein im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert, Leobener Grne Heft, 31 (Wien, 1958), pp. 12, 20, 24 and 26. These differ in the following years (marks brandsilver): 1480-1489 38,924; 1500-1509 36,392; 1510-1519 44,136; 1560-1569 20,421 Quite different from the data presented in table A1/B1, derived from the sources, listed above, is that presented in M. von Isser Gaudenthurm, Schwazer Bergwerksgeschichte, Berg- und Httenmnnisches Jahrbuch der k. k. montanistische Hochschule zu Leoben und Pribram, Bd. LII (1904) & Bd. LIII (1905), pp. 422, 432, 446, 457, 462. These figures are again critically appraised in Professor Westermanns works referred to above. Table A1-B2 Supplement Von Isser Gaudenthurms Annual Average Silver Production Estimates
Date 1471-80 1481-1490 1490-1500 1501-1510 1511-1520 1521-1522 1523 Silver (marks) 32,264 35,223 37,320 38,812 42,036 49,507 55,855 Copper (zentner) 12,906 14,093 14,923 15,524 16,814 19,800 22,340 Date 1524-1525 1526-1530 1531-1550 1551-1555 1556-1560 1561-1565 1566-1570 Silver (marks) 47,598 38,164 32,605 28,290 27,794 20,660 19,486 Copper (zentner) 19,035 15,264 13,022 11,316 11,117 8,264 7,794

50

2. Mining Corporations, 1470-1499 In the aftermath of the mining crisis of 1486-1491 the workings of Falkenstein were almost totally dominated by local Tirolean entrepreneurs who, establishing their position at this time, continued to play an important if dwindling role therein. Details of these families and corporations who maintained large-scale (viz. producing more than 250 kg.= ca. 900 marks of silver per year) operations in the 1490s are given below, derived from files compiled from M. von Wolfstrigl-Wolfkron, Die Tiroler Erzbergbaue, pp.52-56 and E. Egg, Das Wirtschaftswunder, pp.12ff supplemented with individual family histories. 1. Stephan Tnzel and Karl Schlosser, 1470-1483, succeeded by Hans Hartmann, 1483-1499 1,500-1,588 marks p.a. For supplementary information on Tnzel see the sources listed in chapter 1 note 20 and E. Egg, Aufsteig, Glanz, und Ende der Gerwerkenfamilie Tnzel, Schlernschriften , LXXVIII (Innsbruck, 1971), pp.31-52. 2. Christian Tnzel and his son Jakob of Innsbruck 4,873 marks p.a in 1470-1499 3. Hans Fieger of Hall, 1470-1499 3,300 marks p.a. See E. Egg, Siegmund Fieger, Tiroler Heimatsbltter, XXX (1955), pp.33-38. 4. Andre Jauffner of Sterzing, 1470-1499 1,350 marks p.a. 5. Antoni vom Ross of Venice, 1470-1491 succeeded by Hans Baumgartner of Kupfstein, 1491-1499 3,500-5,500 marks. On Antoni von Ross and his corporation see S. Worms, Schwazer Bergbau , pp. 87-88; M. von Wolfstrigl-Wolfkron, Die Tiroler Erzbergbaue, pp.52-56, E. Egg, Das Wirtschaftswunder, p.14 and the same authors Nrnberger Messingwaren in Tirol, Anzeiger des Germanischen Nationalmuseums, 1965, p.54. On the Baumgartner W. Krass, Die Baumgartner von Nrnberg und Augsburg with supplement on Die Baumgartner von Kupfstein und Wassenberg, Schwbische Geschichtsquellen, Heft 1 (Mnchen, 1919), pp.119-126. 6. Lamprecht Erlacher, Sacristan of Stans 1470-1499 1,650 marks p.a 7. Hans Stckl of Flauring, 1481-1498 1,129 marks p.a. See E. Egg, Die Stckl in Schwaz in G. Heilfurth & L. Schmit (eds.), Bergbauberlieferung und Bergbauprobleme in sterreich und seinem Umkries. Festschrift fr Franz Kirnbauer zum 75 Geburtstag (Wien, 1975), pp. 51-64. 8. Hermann Grunzhfer and his son Hans, mint master of Tirol 1,457 marks p.a. (1470-1483), 2,600 marks p.a (1484-1503) 9. Jrg Perl, 1470-1499 3,900 marks p. a 10. Leinhard Linquel, 1470-1496 1,315 marks p.a (1470-1495), 1,208 marks pa (1496) 11. Virgil Hofer and heirs, Salzburg, corporation at Rattenberg, 1475-1499 5,310 marks p.a. See E. Egg, Virgil Hofer, Bergherr zu Rattenberg, Tiroler Heimatsbltter, XXXVIII, 1/3 (1963), pp.1-14 12. Hans Sigwein of Hall, 1470-1505. 950 marks p.a. 13. Peter Rmmel, Nrnberg and owner of a brass works at Fritzens, which was once of vom Ross. A member of that family whose industrial interests extended from Rattenberg and Schwaz to Thringia and Saxony (S-TCF,

51

chapter 1, note 20) and whose history is laid out in C Shaper, Die Ratsfamilie Rumel-Kaufleute, Finanziers und Unternehmer, MVGN, LXVIII (1981) 3. Other Alpenland Mines Far less satisfactory is the data on the other mines of the Schwazer Revier. Data on the Alterzeche and Ringenwechsel- is contained in E. Egg, Schwaz ist aller Bergwerke Mutter, Der Anschnitt, XVI, 3 (1964), pp. 21, 25ff. On the new mining regions opened up after 1540 including Rhrerbichl bei Kitzbhel, a deposit four kilometres long by 100 metres wide yielding argentiferous copper ores, production data is recorded in M. von Wolfstrigl-Wolfkron, Die Tiroler Erzbergbaue, 1321-1665 (Innsbruck, 1902), p.193. The Steiermarck workings at Schladming and barn are the subject of studies by H. Kunnert, Die Silbervorsung sterreicher Mnzstatten durch den Schladminger Bergbau im 16. und Anfang des 17. Jahrhunderts, Numismatische Zeitschrift, LXI (1928), p.23 and the same authors Beitrge zur Geschichte des Bergbaues im Berggerichtsbezirk Schladming in den Jahren 1304 bis 1616 (Diss. Wien, 1927), p.81 as well as M. Wenger, Ein Beitrag zur Statistik und Geschichte des Bergbaubetriebes in den sterreichische Alpenlndern im 16. Jahrhundert, Montanistische Rundschau, Jg. 23 (1931), pp. 225ff, 239ff, and 247ff. RadmerK.A. Redlich, Der Kupferbergbau Radmer an der Hasel, Berg- und Httenmnnisches Jahrbuch, LIII (1905) or the Krnten workings described by H. Wiesner, Geschichte des Krntner Bergbaus (Klagenfurt, 1951), II (Buntmetall), p.276ff.

Figure A1/B1
Koln marks 80,000

Schwaz Silver Production

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0 1470

1475

1480

1485

1490

1495

1500

1505

1510

1515

1520

1525

1530

1535

1540

1545

1550

1555

1560

1565

52

2 THRINGIA
(Figure A2/B1 and Maps 1.1 and A2/1) The closing years of the fourteenth century witnessed the establishment of the first Saigerhtte in Nrnberg, which continued to operate through the 1430s, drawing raw copper from Kuttenberg (Bohemia), Zwickau and Meissen (Saxony and Thringia) and lead from the Erzgebirge market town of Eger.5 The technology remained exotic, however, until the 1450s when it was rapidly diffused through the city economy, there being at least half a dozen plants in and about Nrnberg during the years 1450-1469.6 It was Nrnbergers, moreover, who carried, in the period 1460-1490, the new techniques to Thringia. 1. Thringian Saigerhandelgesellschaft During the initial Grunderzeit (1460-1480) six corporations built some eight huts.7 A. Scheusinger Saigerhandelsgesellschaft. The Nrnbergers Burckhart and Martin Semler erected the Schleusingen hut in 1461. The formers death in the following year, however lead to the inclusion of his cousin Martin Sebald Groland the Younger and the trustees of a bequest in the corporation. The reformed company, moreover, extended its capital in 1470 by the incorporation of a new memberHeinrich Meichsner- in order to acquire the copper mine near Ilmenau and the hut associated with it. In the nineties a dispute with the Eisleben burgess Andreas Kemmerer led to the acquisition of his mine and hut at Faulensee. The Scheusinger Corporation, initially founded in the 1460s to refine and extract silver from raw copper, from the seventies began to vertically integrate its operations, taking over mining and smelting capacity. In the same period, moreover, Semler seems to have engaged in a frantic search for alternative sources of supply. In 1495 he may be discerned buying Hungarian raw copper. By 1500 purchase had given way to direct investment as he took shares in the Hitzroder mines of North Hesse. In the boom to 1510, however, the corporation over-extended itself and in 1514 went bankrupt.8 B. Gesellschaft der Saigerhtte Hohenkirchen. In 1462 Ludwig, Abbot of Georgenthal allowed Heinz Funck and Dietrich Hacke of Weimar and Hans Funcke and Gerlach Stengel of Erfurt to establish a smelter. It did not last long, however, for on the same site was erected the Fugger hut. 9 C. Gesellschaft der Saigerhtte Grfenthal. In 1462 the Coburg burgess Heinrich Buchner was granted the right to build a smelting hut at Grfenthal and in 1469 was the possessor of a copper mine at Waldsachsen. On Buchners death control
5

H. Schenk, Nrnberg und Prag, Giessener Abhandlung zur Agrar- und Wirtschaftsforschung des europaschen Ostens, XLVI (1969) 6 E Westermann, Die Bedeutung des Thringer Saigerhandels fr mitteleuropaschen Handel an der Wende vom 15. zum 16. Jahrhundert, Jahrbuch fr die Geschichte Mittel- und Ostdeutschlands, XXI (1972), p.70. 7 The following section is derived from materials in E. Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer und seine Bedeutung fr den europaschen Kupfermarkt, 1460-1560 (Kln-Wien, 1971), Anlage I-II, pp.266-283 8 Ibidem, p.114 9 See page

53

D.

E.

F.

G.

over the corporation passed to his son Moritz, his sister Prisca who married the Nrnberger Andreas Kaltenhauser the Elder and Oswald who sold out his share. In 1497 the Nrnberg burgess Sigmund Frer, the Elder, invested some 8,000 florins in the corporation for his son. Other investors were the Leipzig family of Kroll. The small corporation thereafter maintained a not insignificant position in the industry, contributing in the 1520s about eight per cent of capacity.10 Gesellschaft der Saigerhtte Steinach. In 1464 William of Saxony granted the Nrnbergers Heinrich Steinmetz and Hermann Hildebrand a decayed hammer and a place to erect a smelting hut at Steinach. In 1487 Christoph and George Rothan and their brother-in-law Hans Burckel, all Nrnberg burgesses, received rights in the Saigerhtte there. Brutigam and Rothan died in 1479 and 1486 respectively and control over the corporation passed to Hans Burckel until the nineties when the corporations capital was extended. The new phase was signalled in 1490, when Sebald Schreyer invested 2,000 Rhenish florins therein, and was consolidated in 1498 with new articles of incorporation: Hans Burckel 2,000 fl Sebald Schreyer 2,000 fl Sebastian Kammerer 11 2,000 fl Hans Starck 2,000 fl Hans Burckel & Christoph Rothan 800 fl Berthold Tucher 1,600 fl Amortization of hut 1,000 fl Moreover, in 1500 Sebastian Kammerer increased his participation to 3,655 florins. This, however, marked the high point of expansion. The first decade of the new century witnessed a change in atmosphere. In 1505 Tucher withdrew from the corporation, diverting his resources into brass production. Wolf Peringsdorfer, a relative of Christoph Rothan, took his place. 1507 moreover saw the beginning of an interminable family wrangle, which culminated in the plants closure in 1514. Gesellschaft der Saigerhtte Schwarza. In 1472 a new corporation was founded comprising the lords Friedrich von Hennenberg and Gunter and Volrad von Mansfeld, together with Gosse Koman, Heinrich Hagelken, Gerhard Hagk and Frau Styne, to operate Saigerhtten at Mansfeld and Schwarza. Unfortunately little is known of its fate until 1499 when the Augsburger Anton Hrwart bought shares in the corporation, which continued to operate on a small scale in the sixteenth century. Gesellschaft der Saigerhtte Eisfeld. Founded by the Nrnbergers Matheus Landauer, who was connected with the Steinach corporation through his marriage to Helen Rothan, and Hans Starck, who was married to Ccilia Landauer, in 1479. In 1490 Edres Tucher was included in the corporation and acted as its agent in Eisleben. In ca 1500 the corporation worked annually 1,000-2,500 zentners of raw copper drawn not only from Eisleben but also from Stolberg, Zwickau, Schlema, Leipzig and Nrnberg, a dependence on external supplies, which persisted into the sixteenth century, particularly with the building in 1513 of a second hut.12 Gesellschaft der Saigerhtte Arnstadt. Founded before 1471 by the Erfurt burger Martin Merkel and his brother-in-law Hans Meygen, a half interest was acquired in the corporation during 1474 by the Nrnbergers Hans Gartner and Peter

10 11

Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer, p.117 Ibidem, p. 274n Sebald Schreyer was married to Margaret, sister of Sebastian Kammerer 12 Ibidem, p. 111

54

Meichsner who further augmented their position in 1480 when Meygen sold out to them. Once again, however, the turn of the century witnessed an extension of the corporate capital base of the enterprise as Dr Johann Letscher and Christoph Frer bought in, their position being incorporated in a new contract in 1501: Dr Johann Letscher 5,000 fl Hans Gartner 2,000 fl Dr Heinrich Garner, his son 2,000 fl Christoph and Sigmund Frer 7,000 fl Wilhelm Schlsselfelder 5,000 fl Sebald Wolkenstein 4,500 fl Dr Philipp Drachstedt 6,000 fl Providing the finance to build a new Saigerhtte, which survived the crisis of the early 1510s. H. Gesellschaft der Saigerhtte Ludwigstadt The earliest references to this corporation date from the closing years of the fifteenth century when the main participants were the Leipzigers Lorenz Jechler and Veit Wiedermann and the Nrnberger Bruno Engel, operating a plant which utilised not only Eisleben but also Hungarian and Schneeberg copper. I. Gesellschaft der Saigerhtte Hasenthal During the 1490s quarter shares were held in the corporation by Ulrich Meyer, Sebastian Papenheim and Hans Leimbach, and Hans Brackenloer, but again the capital base of the enterprise was extended at the beginning of the new century: Hans Leimbach of Leipzig 6,000 fl Wolf Leimbach, his son 5,000 fl The Meyer heirs 5,000 fl Hans Fincke 3,000 fl as the corporation expanded its activities, drawing on copper supplies not only from Eisleben but also from Ilmenau, Saalfield and Schlema as well as Hungary The corporations established during the Grunderzeit (1460-1480) to refine and extract silver from Eisleben raw copper thus underwent a rapid phase of expansion during the years 1502-1512. This necessitated an expansion of their capital base in order to both expand their capacity and to acquire raw materials from an extended supply network. New corporations were also established and Saigerhtte built at Stolberg and Wernigeroder. 13 Boom conditions prevailed but amidst the frantic activity the seeds of collapse were being sown. From ca. 1506, with rising costs, diminishing silver yields and falling copper prices, the dividends of the Steinach and Hasenthaler companies dwindled: 1498 3.25% 1505 9.0% 1499 2.4% 1507 2.3% 1501 13.6% 1508 4.8% 1502 18.6% 1509 12.25% 1503 14.0% 1510 5.8% 1504 12.8% 1511 3.6%14 finally, between 1512-1515, leading to the bankruptcy of the Stolberg, Steinach, Hasenthal, Wernigeroder and Schleusingen corporations. 15 The 1510s indeed were capricious years for the Thringian producers and it was only at the beginning of the
13 14

Ibidem, pp. 110-111 Ibidem, p. 159 15 Ibidem, p. 114

55

next decade that new investment was undertaken. In 1521 the Pfinzing family and Paul Topper bought out the Burckels and re-founded the Steinach corporation, taking in new partners in 1523 and 1525. In 1522 a new company, the Gesellschaft der Chemnitzer Saigerhtte , was founded.16 Most significant, however, was the establishment with a capital of 70,000 florins of the Leutenberger Saigerhandelgesellschaft to build plant with a projected capacity of 7,000-8,000 zentners. Thereafter it steadily augmented its capital: 1524 1526 1527 1528 70,000 fl 91,380 fl 108,380 fl 120,710 fl 17

By 1526 the industry was well on the way to recovery with an output of ca 48,400 zentners of refined copper. The crisis that followed, however, stripped it of three of the corporations (Ludwigstadt, Eisfeld and Chemnitz), leaving only five to adopt a policy of cartelisation to stabilise their position.18 Thereafter the five remaining corporations: Grfenthal (represented during the thirties by Siegmund Frer) Schwarza (represented by Hans Straub) Steinach (represented by Siegmund Pfinzing) Arnstadt (represented by Christoph Frer) Leutenberg (represented by Ulrich Rauscher) pursued a policy of output restriction, leading to enhanced dividends on a stable capital base:19 Leutenberg 1527 11% 1531 11% 1535 14% 1536 19% 1537 22.4% Steinach Schwarza Grfenthal 1540 14.5% 1542 6.5% 1543 15% 1544 10% 1545 13% 1546 11% 5% 1547 12% 13% 1548 13% 12% 1549 15% 15% 14% 1550 12% 10% 10% 1551 12% 11% 1552 10% 1553 10% 1557 7% 1558 8%20

16 17

Ibidem, p. 115 Ibidem, p. 116 18 Ibidem, pp. 128-137 19 Ibidem, pp. 154-157 20 Ibidem, pp. 159-161

56

2. Raw Copper (Rohkupfer) Production Initially founded in the 1460s and 1470s to refine and extract silver from Thringian raw copper, the Saigerhandelgesellschaft were by the 1490s forced to expand their supply networks to engross low silver-yielding foreign coppers. In part other major producers, such as Slovakia provided these low silver-yielding foreign coppers. Of equal importance, however, were neighbouring suppliers in the Erzgebirge (Schlema), Coburg (Ilmenau and Saalfield); Northern Hesse (Sontra, Richelsdorf, Iba and Nenterhausen, ca 500-1,000 zentners) and Sangerhausen-Stolberg (ca 1,600 zentners).21 Even in the boom conditions of 1502-1512 and 1517-1526, however, it is improbable that these supplies contributed more than twenty per cent of the industrys raw materials.22 The main source remained within Thringia. (i) Eisleben and Mansfeld Information concerning Rohkupfer production can be derived from two sources. Direct evidence of output is available from A1 A2 Contemporary accounts of total production, detailing the output of each individual smelter, together with details of the tenth and fifth (of the tenth) due the lord.23 Accounts of the lordly fifth, collected from each corporation with occasionally particular accounts detailing the amount and quality of the copper collected.24

Indirect evidence of output is provided by B Accounts and contracts for sale of the lordly tenth. In each case the total amount of money collected is recorded, with the price per zentner. From 1522 the price quoted is that of a zentner containing 16 lots of silver and for each lot of silver above or below this norm half a florin was added or subtracted. 25 The total figure is thus a composite and surviving particulars from the years 1547-1561 reveal the quantities and qualities of raw copper delivered. 26

In order to convert these renders (B) into production statistics Professor Westermann has had to make four assumptions. (a) That the composition of the production-mix remained the same as that of the period 1547-1561 viz. 16-17 lots per zentner throughout the period (b) The price deflator was that of 16-lot copper
21 22

Ibidem, pp. 45-46 Calculated by subtracting Thringian production (Eisleben, Mansfeld and Hettstedt) from estimated industrial capacity. 23 Ibidem, pp.192-195 and E. Westermann, Hans Luther und die Huttenmeister der Grafschaft Mansfeld im 16. Jahrhundert. Ein Forschungsaufgabe, Scripta Mercatura, IX (1975), pp. 68-86. 24 Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer, pp. 217-218 25 Ibidem, pp. 201-210 26 Ibidem, pp. 198-200

57

(c)

(d)

That the tenth of Hettstedt production which was included in the composite sale, was related to the tenth of Eisleben in the ratio 1:14 and that relative prices of the two coppers were in the ratio 2:3.27 That in the period to 1514 when the tenth was collected only upon the Erbfeuern , the Herrenfeuern paying a fixed tax, the former contributed 48 per cent of production.

Unfortunately in the three years (1508, 1522 and 1527) where the resultant estimate (B1) can be checked against direct evidence (A1) there is an increasing divergence between the two. 28 As the third and fourth assumptions may be checked against near contemporary direct evidence, and prices are contemporary ones for 16-lot copper, it seems probable that the error lies in the first assumption and that the silver content of the copper was falling during the years 1506-1541. If this is correct then there is a significant error in Professor Westermanns estimate of silver production, which was obtained by multiplying copper production by a constant yield of 1.053 marks/zentner.29 Table A2/B1 Copper and Silver Production, Eisleben & Mansfeld, 1506-1570
Date 1d 1506 1508 1509 1512 1513 1514 1515 1518 1519 1520 1522 1523 1524 1526 1527 1529 1534 1537 1538 1539 1541 1542 1543 1544 19,271 22,102 23,162 23,062 24,492 22,754 22,506 27,157 33,007 31,587 29,962 25,576 A 2e Copper Output b B f 1 18,071 19,918 17,956 18,916 15,805 19,700 24,109 16239 33,007 15,587 22,488 22,307 14,445 20,053 22,573 22,864 (zentners)a 2 17,471 19,271 17,454 19,619 19,498 24,109 22,754 48,411 31,587 10 Yield lot/zent. 15..5 Output 17,471 19,271 17,454 22,102 23,162 19,619 23,062 19,498 24,492 24,109 22,754 22,506 27,157 48,411 31,587 29,962 25,576 22,488 22,307 14,445 20,053 22,573 25,415 26,857 Silver Output c (marks) 1 2 18,396 18,369 20,292 18,693 18,280 16,232 23,273 19,670 24,389 19,687 24,219 15,891 24,484 17,757 14,233 25,790 16,899 15,670 23,960 10,808 23,698 10,890 28,596 10,862 34,756 15,733 33,261 7,897 31,550 8,689 26,932 10,486 23,679 11,918 24,541 12,715 8,811 21,115 13,836 23,769 16,478 26,763 19,569 28,280 21,754

25,415 26,857

27 28

Ibidem, pp. 197-203 See table A2/B1 below 29 Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer, p. 247

58
a

Date 1545 1549 1550 1553 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1559 1560 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569 1
d

2 29,799 26,693 23,427 17,271 11,916 17,776 18,250 16,113 19,948 21,090 16,000

Copper Output (zentners) Bb Yield f 1 2 lot/zent. 16

Output 29,799 26,693 23,427 17,271 11,916 17,776 18,250 16,113 19,948 21,090 16,000

Silver Output (marks)c 1 2 31,378 25,627 28,108 28,108 24,668 24,668 18,186 18,186 12,547 12,547 18,718 18,718 19,217 19,217 19,967 19,967 20,531 20,531 22,218 22,218 16,800 16,800

20,000

20,000

21,000

21,000

NOTES: (a) Zentner of Eisleben =114 Pfd. And according to W. Mollenberg (hrsgb) Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte des Mansfeldischen Saigerhandels im 16. Jahrhundert (Halle: Geschichtsquellen der Provinz Sachsen und angrenzender Gebiete, Bd. 47. 1915), p. x the Eisleben pound weighed 1.115 pounds Antwerp weight (b) Estimated production 1. Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer, pp. 236, 251 and 2 revised estimate. (c) Estimated production 1. Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer, pp. 247, 251 2. Revised estimate assuming a linear decline in yields 1508-1522-1527 and recovery to a yield of 16 lots in 1547. The assumed linearity of decline is confirmed for the year 1514 by the price paid for the copper from the Herrenfeuern tenth ibidem, p.204. For yields in 1547-1561 see ibidem, pp.198-200 SOURCES: (d) Series A1 above Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer, pp. 192-195 (e) Series A2 above W. Mck, Der Mansfelder Kupferschieferbergbau in seiner rechtsgeschichtlichen Entwicklung (Eisleben, 2 vols., 1910), I, pp. 66-72 (f) Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer, pp. 203-210

59

Table A2/B2 Copper and Silver Production, Hettstedt, 1506-1570

Date 1 1506 1508 1509 1512 1513 1514 1515 1518 1519 1520 1522 1523 1524 1526 1527 1529 1537 1538 A Copper Output (zentners) B Yield 2 1 Lots/zen.a 600 646 596 1,578 1,654 1,600 1,209 1,507 1,750 1,734 2,089 2,420 2,429 1,518 2,010 8 Silver output (marks) Output 600 646 596 1,578 1,654 1,600 1,660 1,209 1,645 1,507 1,750 1,734 2,089 2,420 2,429 2,340 1,518 2,010 300 323 298 789 827 800 830 605 822 754 875 867 1,044 1,210 1,215 1,170 759 1,005

1,660 1,645

2,340

NOTES: (a) As it is impossible to check the reliability of the estimates the figures are Westermann, Das Eislebner Garkupfer, pp. 236, 247, 251

Figure A2/B1 Thuringia

Marks 30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0 1470 1475 1480 1485 1490 1495 1500 1505 1510 1515 1520 1525 1530 1535 1540 1545 1550 1555 1560 1565 1570

60

3 SLOVAKIA Neusohl (Bansk Bystrica)

(Figure A3/B1 and Maps 1.1 and A3/1) The fourteenth century witnessed the opening up of both the silver-bearing tetraedite copper ores of the region about Strych Horch and pania Dolina and the 30 chalkopyrites of Spi . The former region became particularly important at the close of the century when a favourable conjuncture in both copper and silver markets excited the interest of both Italians and Nrnbergers in the Central Slovak deposits. 31 Initially it was the Genoese house of Gallici, settled at Krkow, who spearheaded the advance, farming the rulers lead mines and supplying the German Kamerer-Seiler and Flextorfer-Zenner companies who dominated the production of argentiferous copper. In 1400, however, the incidence of control over Polish lead production passed to the Venetian and Florentine agents of the Medici - Pietro Picorano and the Celentiwho from 1405 collaborated with the representative of the second Nrnberg house, Klaus Kezinger, to oust his rival. 32 The battle to secure hegemony within the newly established industry during the years, ca 1395-1415 was intense but the pickings were rich. The Spleiss-, Saigerhtten and Hammerwerk e established at Neusohl at this time produced some 2,000-2,500 zentners of refined copper annually. Even more important some 8,000-10,000 zentners of unrefined black copper was exported to Venice and an indeterminate amount to Nrnberg where the first Saigerhtte had been established at the end of the fourteenth century. 33 The gains, however, were not only rich but also were ephemeral, predicated on the crisis conditions prevailing in silver and copper markets during the years, ca 1395-1415. The subsequent abatement of silver prices in the 1410s and the contemporary fall in copper prices relegated the Neusohl producer to the wings. From ca. 1415 the Central Slovak argentiferous copper ore deposits were abandoned as Balkan production once more came to dominate international specie markets and the copper market was divided between Tirolean-Balkan products in the South and the metal produced from the pyrites (chalkopyrites) of eastern Slovakia in the North-west. From ca. 1415-1450, production at Spi , whose wares displaced those of Goslar on the markets of Northwest Europe in the fourteenth century, was augmented by the output of new centres and non-argentiferous copper reigned
30 31

J. Vlachovi , Slovensk Med v 16. a 17. Storo (Bratislava, 1964), p.23 On the Frankfurt market copper prices rose from 15 to 27 pfennig a pound between 1380 and 1410, a trend paralleled at Lbeck and Venice. From 1390 silver prices underwent a similar inflation. 32 W. von Stromer, Nrnberger Unternehmer im Karpetenraum. Ein oberdeutsches Buntmetall Oligopol 1396-1412, Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej, XVI, 4 (1968), pp.641-662 as well as the same authors Oberdeutsche Hochfinanz 1350-1450 (Wiesbaden, 1970), pp. 119-125, 143-148, 448-495 and Das Zusammenspeil oberdeutsche und Florentiner Geldleute bei der Finanzierung vom Knig Ruprecht Italienszug 1401-1402 in Offentliche Finanzen und privats Kapital im spten Mitelalter und in der ersten Hlfte des 16. Jahrhunderts (Stuttgart: Forschungen zur Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte, Bd. 16. 1971) 33 Und anfnglich bey Knig Mattys auch Vladislai Zeiten ist keine Spleyss- Saygerhtten noch Hammer in Neusohl gewesen, sondern man hat den schwarzen Kupfer alsso aus den Land Gefhrer und anderswo gespleissen, geseigert und geschnit. Memorial of the Fuggers factor at Neusohl, printed in P. Ratko(ed.), Dokumenty k banckemu povstanlu na Slovensku 1525-1526 (Bratislava, 1957), p. 457. On production, J. Vlachovic, Slovensk Med , p.23.

61

supreme.34 During the 1420s and 1430s it was the products of Gelnica, Lubietova and Smlnik mines, engrossed in the hands of Jan Falbrecht, the Copper Baron, which began to enter the market. Production increased. At Smlnik, which with Gelnice and Tich Voda were the main smelting centres of the new industry, output steadily increased as that from Neusohl declined. It rose from 1,231 zentners in 1410 to 4,613 zentners in 1439 before decline commenced, ultimately leading to the abandonment of the flooded workings in the 1460s. 35 The resultant rise in copper prices, when coupled with the general European silver crisis, now, however, set the stage for a renaissance of the silver copper process. The return of Jan Thurzo from Venice during the 1460s signalled the beginning of the first act of the new drama, which was about to be played out.36 In 1469 in collaboration with Benedikt Zientara and his compatriot Teschner he established a large smelting works at Mogi a, near Krkow where Hungarian black copper was refined and the silver was extracted using Polish lead. The new plant, which was compared in contemporary Polish chronicles with Etna because of the clouds of smoke which floated over it, operated for some fifty years and inevitably involved the partners in Slovak mining in order to secure their raw materials. 37 In 1475 Thurzo became heavily involved in the Central Slovak industry at Bank Bystrica, Kremnica, Bansk tiavnica, Nov Ba a, Pukanec, Bansk Bel and Lubirtova, drawing black copper from thence as well as from Jan Kolmanns smelting huts at Pieskov.38 The industry was, however, well past its prime and mining production, which at best supported an output of ca 2,000 zentners of refined copper annually, collapsed in the late 1480s. 1486 (7,680) par39 1487 6,600 par 1488 4,600 par 1489 392 par40 On the eve of the nineties, therefore, the industry was in a desperate situation, many of the burghal investors and mining lords being on the verge of bankruptcy. 41 A complete reformation of the industry was required. Thurzo and the Augsburg house of Fugger merging interests accomplished this. A highly developed mining enterprise was established with smelting houses at Star Hory and Harmenec, refineries at Mo tenice and Tadjov and, after an initial period when silver-bearing copper was exported to Venice and Nrnberg, Saigerhtten at Mo tenice, Hohenkirchen (Thringia) and Fuggerau (Krnten). The Slovak establishment thus became the
34 35

A. Fleck, Beitrge zur Geschichte Kupfers (Jena, 1908), p.34 J. Vlachovi , Slovensk Med , p.25 36 Ibidem, p.20n. A Venetis Turzo didicit confusa metalla secernedi artem qua regno commoda multa attulit Hungaricae 37 th th D. Molenda, Investments in Ore Mining in Poland from the 13 to the 17 Centuries, The Journal of European Economic History , V, 1 (1976), p.162 38 F. Dobel, Der Fugger Bergbau und Handel in Ungarn, Zeitschrift des historischen Vereins fr Schwaben und Neuberg, VI (1879), p. 34; E. Koch, Das Htten und Hammerwerk der Fugger zu Hohenkirchen bei Geogenthal in Thringen, 1495-1549 , Zeitschrift des Vereins fr Thringische Geschichte und Altertumskunde, NF. XXVI (1926), p.290 39 1 par =154 kg. The figure for 1486 is extrapolated from a five-month account 40 P. Ratko , Die Kupferindustrie in der Slovalei vor der Entsehung der Thurzo-Fuggerschen Handelgesellschaft in I. Bog (hrsgb.), Der Aussenhandel Ostmitteleuropas 1450 bis 1650. Die ostmitteleuropaschen Volkswirtschaften in ihren Beziehungen zu Mitteleuropa (Kln, 1971) 41 J. Vlachovi , Slovak Copper Boom in World Markets of the Sixteenth and in the First Half of the Seventeenth Centuries, Studia Historica Slovaka, I, (1964), p. 66

62

centre of an enterprise, which spanned each of the major production centres supplying raw materials to the Thringian plant from 1495-1536 and the Carinthian one until 1504.42 Table A3/B1 Ore, Copper and Silver Production of the Fugger-Thurzo Gesellschaft, 1494-154743
Datea 1494-1500 c 1500-1504 1504-1507 1507-1510 1510-1513 1513-1516 1516-1519 1519-1526 1526-1539 1539-1541 1541-1546 1548 Ore Production tonnes Total Annual 48,630 9,726 NA 4,620 Copper Production tonnes Total Annual 88,421 17,684 103,385 20,677 87,325 29,108 67,517 22,500 140,725 46,908 85,567 28,522 78,105 26,035 169,438 28, 240 267,000 20,538 108,885d 21,777 NA 10560 Silver Production marks Total Annual 74,389 7,439 48,355 42,445 51,847 34,465 18,787 66,159 112,125 37,049 16,118 14,148 17,282 11,488 6,262 9,451 8,625 8,140 Yield Mrk/zentner 0.49 b 0.55 0.63 0.37 0.4 0.24 0.39 0.42 0.34 -

NOTES: (a) Accounts run for irregular periods and annual figures have been calculated from monthly averages. (b) At Hohenkirchen the black copper delivered from Leipzig (47,052 zentners) and Nrnberg (10,644 zentners) during the years 1496-1504 yielded 0.56 marks of silver per zentner. G Frh. von Plnitz, Jakob Fugger , II, p. 49 At Neusohl between 1494-1500 some 11,889 zentners were saigered yielding 0.42 marks per zentner, ibidem, pp. 53-56. (c) Ibidem, p.56 and J. Vlachovi , Slovensk Med, p. 53. (d) Yield 4.5 tonnes of ore per ton of copper during the 1540s. Extraction rates 18% of metal content. Table A3/B2 Copper and Silver Production, 1548-157944
Date 23/2/1548-14/10/1550 14/10/1550-13/4/1563 13/4/1563-1/4/1569 April 1569-Nov. 1572 1573-1575 1575-1579 Corporation Mathias Manlich b Manlich & assoc. Manlich & assoc.c d Manlich & assoc. Manlich & assoc. Manlich & assoc. Copper Production (zentners)a Total Annual 62,607 23,536 266,179 21,294 103,944 17,324 51,173 19,835 35,000 17,500 38,324 12,775 Silver Production Annual 3,796e -

NOTES (a) of 61.5 kg (b) To 1550-1555 Mathias Manlich, 1555-1563 Mathias Manlich, Ulrich Link, Anton Haug, G and J Langenauer (c) 1563-1566 Melchior
42 43

J. Vlachovi , Slovensk Med , pp. 35-39 Ibidem, pp. 53, 58, 101 44 The works of J. Vlachovi , Slovensk Med, and his Die Kupfererzeugung und der Kupferhandel in der Slowakei vom Endedes 15. bus zur Mitte des 17. Jahrhunderts, Schwerpunkte should also be consulted regarding subsequent lessees 1548-1568.

63

Manlich and Abraham Katzbeck, 1563-1569 Melchior Manlich and Filip Welser (d) 1569-1579 Wolfgang Paller and Leonard Weiss. (e) I.e. 0.22 marks/zentner Its inter-regional structure, moreover, allowed it to participate in each of the major elements of the marketing network of the industry.45 Neusohl Garkupfer, refined in each of the regional centres, indeed dominated European copper markets and from the time of the original Thurzo-Fugger contract the Augsburgers dominated these sales. Table A3/B3 Minimum Trade Shares of Main Corporations, 1500-153946 (%)
Date 1509 1519 1529 1539 1549 Augsburg 76 90 96 100 91 Nrnberg NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL Other 24 10 4 NIL 9

Table A3/B4 Copper Sales of the Fugger-Thurzo Gesellschaft 1497-153947 (Zentners per year)
Venice & Trieste Northwest European Markets (Antwerp, Amsterdam etc) From Neusohl through Stettin and Gdansk 3,125 NA 15,480 26,300 16,800 14,527 10,393 9,200 From Hohenkirchen through Lneberg NA NA 4,043 4,446 2,516d 4,882 8,268 1,587 Central-Eastern European Markets (Nrnberg, Frankfurt etc) From From a Hohenkirchen elsewhere NA NA 2,466 9,630 4,261 5,070 3,224 6,363 NA NA 5,220 c 6,054 2,160 4,331 7,251 1,290 Total

Date

1497-1504 b 1504-1507 1507-1510 1510-1513 1513-1516 1516-1519 1519-1526 1526-1527

45 46

9,502 NA 4,201 1,507 1,135 100 1,421 568

29,502 NA 31,410 47,937 26,873 28,890 30,521 19,008

Unfortunately the data on silver sales is too incomplete for statistical analysis R. Hildebrandt, Augsburger und Nrnberger Kupferhandel 1500-1619. Produktion, Marktanteil und Finanierung im Vergleich zweier Stdte und ihrer wirtschaftlichen Fhrungssicht, Zeitschrift fr Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Jhg. XCII, Hefte 1 (1972), II.deccenial average year ending. 47 The data on total sales from the Neusohl, Hohenkirchen and Fuggerau plants together with information on sales at Venice, Stettin and Danzig are derived from H. van der Wee, Antwerp, I, appendix 44/1, pp. 522-523. Information of direct sales from Hohenkirchen is from E. Koch, Das Htten und Hammerwerk der Fugger zu Hohenkirchen bei Geogenthal in Thringen, 1495-1549 , Zeitschrift des Vereins fr Thringische Geschichte und Altertumskunde, NF. XXVI (1926), pp.322327; NF XXVII (1927), pp. 5-40. Part of the Thringian production, however, was distributed via Leipzig and was the responsibility of the Fugger factor there. For a summary of such sales see T. Somerlad, Die Faktorei der Fugger in Leipzig, Schriften des Vereins fr die Geschichte Leipzig , XXII (1938), p. 45 which may be amplified by reference to G. Frh. von Plnitz, Jakob Fugger, II, pp. 285-286, 297, 431

64

1528-1533 1533-1536 1536-1539

1,317 3,080 3,202

14,393 9,712 12,618

445 NIL NIL

3,308 1,374 2,898

4,104 5,921 6,971

23,503 20,087 25,689

NOTES (a) A residual of sales from Neusohl and Fuggerau to markets other than Venice and Stettin/Danzig. (b) The accounts for 1504-1507 do not distinguish destinations G. Frh. von Plnitz, Jakob Fugger, II, p. 230. (c) Including large deliveries from Prague to Nrnberg G. Frh. von Plnitz, Jakob Fugger, II, p. 286. (d) Somerlad does not distinguish the amounts delivered to Nrnberg and Lneberg

Figure A3/B1 Slovakia

Marks
20,000

18,000

16,000

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0 1470

1475 1480

1485

1490

1495 1500

1505

1510

1515 1520

1525

1530 1535

1540 1545

1550

1555 1560

1565

1570

65

Figure A4/1 Saxony

Koln marks

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0 1470 1475 1480 1485 1490 1495 1500 1505 1510 1515 1520 1525 1530 1535 1540 1545 1550 1555 1560

4. SAXONY
Erzgebirge, Kaiserwald and Fichtelgebirge (Map 1.1, Figures 1.1 and A4/A1) The mineralogy of the Erzgebirge and associated deposits was extremely complex, a wide diversity of ores-silver, mercury, cobalt, copper, nickel, tin, bismuth, lead, iron and manganese- all being found and often closely intermingled in one site. To speak of specialist production of any one of these minerals is accordingly not meaningful as in any one mining complex combinations of metals were found whose gradations of importance were dictated by market rather than mineralogical considerations. Thus at Schneeberg, Geyer and Annaberg silver was of primary importance but on occasion copper or tin figured in producers calculations. Similarly at Freiberg in Meissen (see Appendix A2/ A1) silver-lead ores at first predominated, subsequently to be displaced by ores from cobalt-nickel-silver or silver-tin formations, whilst at Marienberg the deposits were exploited for both tin and silver. To classify these mines as silver production centres, as has been done below is thus just as arbitrary, as it is to classify the argententiferous black tin deposits of Graupen or Platten as tin production centres. In each production centre minerals were raised and subjected to reduction by processes which represented modifications of a basic common technology, producing a variety of metallurgical wares whose importance was dictated by market conditions, thereby ensuring that, as indicated above, any classification by production function, is a purely arbitrary one.

66

In Saxony at Freiberg production, which had amounted to ca. 500 marks a year in 1453 thereafter grew steadily though increasingly expansion came not from the working of silver-lead ores but from the exploitation of bismuth-cobalt-nickel-silver formations. Table A-4/A1 Freiberg Silver Production, 1461-1550 Average Annual Output (Marks)
1461-1485 1487-1493 1501-1510 1511-1520 1526-1530 1531-1540 1541-1550 1551-1560 1561-1570 7561 948 2,317 2 3,993 6,905 11,068 18,970 3 25,467 23,760

SOURCES: (1) 1450-1510, J. Khler, Die Keime des Kapitalismus im schsischen silberbergbau 1168 bis zum 1500, Freiberger Forschungsheft, D-13 (1955), pp. 113, 120. (2) 1511-1540 W. Goerlitz, Staat und Stnde unter der Herzgen Albrecht und Georg, 1485-1539 (Leipzig: Schriften des schsischen Kommission fr Geschichte, Bd. XXXII, 1928), p.300. (3) 15401570 M F Gtschmann, Vergleichende bersicht des Ausbeute und die wieder erstatteten Verlages, welch von Jahr 1530 an bis mit dem Jahr 1850 im Freiberger Revier verteilt werden (Freiberg, 1852) (ii) Schneeberg-Schlema The district covering an area of 400 square kilometres is mainly made up of crystalline slates and granites and is made up of three sub-regions. (a) The northern clay, slate district (b) The Schneeberg with mica and clay-slate (c) The granite zone There is a wide diversity of ore- silver, mercury, cobalt, nickel, tin, copper, lead, iron and manganese- often of considerable richness. The silver-bearing veins fall into two groups: (a) The older with tin, copper, quartz and lead formations containing low grade silver ores (b) The younger baryt-cobalt and iron formations with rich silver ores and lower grade silver-lead ones. The richest ores were found in the mica and clay-slate districts of the Schneeberg, which overlay granite extending from Schlema and falling to the Southwest. 48

48

O Hoppe, Der Silberbergbau zu Schneeberg bis zum Jahr 1500 (Freiberg, 1908), pp. 3-5

67

Table A4/B1 Silver and Copper Production at Schneeberg (including Schlema) 1470-1570 A
Date 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 1481 Silver(marks)a 118 12,740 29,405 5,106 32,996 13,257 38,454 77,352 31,176 24,802 48,930 10,591 Date 1482 1483 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 1489 1490 1491 1492 1493 Silver(marks) 15,802 12,074 27,916 6,202 13,154 8,415 8,722 3,606 8,329 13,662 11,642 8,690 Date 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500 1501 1502 1503 Silver (marks) 9,335 15,749 9,134 6,242 7,205 7,873 4,435 6,111 8,186 6,908

NOTE. (a) 1 mark=0.233 kg. SOURCE (A) K. Hahn, Die lteste Schneeberger Zehntreknung, Neues Archiv fr sachsische Geschichte, N F. LIII (1932), p. 3

B
Date 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 Silver (marks) 9,914 9,284 7,391 7,224 5,012 6,398 5,179 771 12,845 5,445 4,480 4,937 4,959 5,868 4,665 Copper (zentner ) 2,505 3,315 3,605 2,980 2,460 2,420 2,330 1,085 525 810 680 825 330 255
a

Date 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533

Silver (marks) 3,781 3,840 2,221 3,055 2,131 1,114 2,036 2,722 2,231 1,354 1,576 3,308 3,858 2,201

Copper (zentner) 220 235 180 120 125 180 170 -

NOTE. (a) 1 zentner =110 Pfd. SOURCE: B-Additional production of high-grade argentiferous copper from Schlema, containing 3-4 marks of silver per zentner (in comparison with 18-19 lots from Mansfeld, 20 lots from Bohemian and only 9 from Hungarian) was included in the statistics. W. Goerlitz, Staat und Stnde unter der Herzgen Albrecht und Georg, 1485-1539 (Leipzig: Schriften des schsischen Kommission fr Geschichte, Bd. XXXII, 1928), p.300

68

C
Date 1532 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 Silver (marks) 2,830 7,194 15,486 16,302 13,253 15,014 12,350 9,554 Date 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548 Silver (marks) 8,119 6,340 4,730 3,492 4,201 2,305 1,400 2,100 Date 1549 1550 1551-1600 (av.) Silver (marks) 4,434 2,880 1,400

SOURCE: C. Meltzer, Ernauerte Stadt- und Bergchronik derBergstadt Schneeberg (Schneeberg, 1716), pp.690 et seq. These statistics (A-C) are all presented in marks of silver of 0.233 kg and zentners of copper of 110 Pfd- the Kln measure. (iii) Annaberg with Buchholz and Schreibenberg The major ore field of Annaberg with Buchholz and Schreibenberg covered an area of 56 square kilometres situated in a region of upper shales, where the bismuth-cobaltnickel formation yielded the highest-grade silver-bearing ores in a cobalt-silver structure. Table A4/B2 Silver Production at Annaberg-Buchholz Schreibenberg
Date 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500 1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 Silver Production (marks) Annaberg Buchholz Schreibenberg 722 367 840 2,650 2,176 9,710 12,132 13,300 12,708 26,833 838 25,587 1,331 27,811 1,511 23,499 3,756 22,580 3,141 20,972 787 18,389 3,434 19,138 978 20,190 1,937 20,796 2,115 17,717 1,817 17,517 1,743 29,044 2,150 23,544 2,361 10,150 2,721 10,687 26,029 1,153 16,783 2,814 Date 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 Silver Production (marks) Annaberg Buchholz Schreibenberg 12,274 2,795 11,711 1,899 12,607 1,976 10,438 918 9,929 2,069 11,946 780 473 10,434 1,192 427 11,702 1,191 383 9,368 537 128 9,401 10,285 923 292 10,545 2,975 175 12,849 1,257 135 7,005 426 285 12,130 294 22,499 315 961 32,317 369 1,735 27,421 378 1,256 62,206 948 25,119 12,500 937 11,897 603 278 8,672 5,176 3,229 366 8,250 229 2,130 2,708 104 10,012 4,571 255

69

METROLOGY: As table A4/B1 SOURCES: A. Laube, Studien ber den erzgebirgischen Silberbergbau vom 14701546 (Berlin: Forschungen zur mittelalterlichen Geschichte, Bd. XXII. 1976), pp. 268-269 (iv) Marienberg Table A4/B3 Marienberg Silver and Tin Production A. Silver Production
Date 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 Silver (marks) 284 247 584 245 229 790 1,491 2,808 3,981 Date 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 Silver (marks) 2,678 1,792 6,095 6,829 5,317 17,929 34,804 46,168 23,873 Date 1542 1543 1544 1545 1553 1554 1572 Silver (marks) 18,873 16,011 16,311 15,071 12,835 18,456 9,000

B. Tin Production Whilst silver production was of paramount importance this mine also produced on average 1500-1550, 1,000 zentners of tin a year and 1550-1600 some 500 zentners. METROLOGY- As table A4/B1 SOURCES: The produce of the tin-silver formations of Marienberg is the subject of two studies by W.Bogsch, Der Marienberger Bergbau in der ersten Hlfte des 16. Jahrhunderts (Schwartzenberg, 1933) and the same authors Der Marienberger Bergbau seit der zweiten Hlfte des 16. Jahrhunderts (Kln-Graz, 1966) as well as the essay of H. Kellenbenz, Schsisches und bhmisches Zinn auf dem europaschen Markt in H Kellenbenz and H. Pohl (eds.), Historia Socialis et Oeconomica. Festschrift fr Wolfgang Zorn zum 65 Geburtstag (Stuttgart: VSWG-Beiheft 84, 1987), p.239

70

(v) Geyer Table A4/B4 Geyer Silver Production A minor field, production at Geyer was dominated by tin output though there were also finds of argentiferous copper. Unfortunately data on either of these is available.
Date 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 1481 1482 1483 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 1489 1490 Silver (marks) 2,143 2,548 1,877 Date 1491 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1597 1498 1499 1500 1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 Silver (marks) 3,561 2,400 4,858 4,541 2,734 4,167 2,113 826 4,120 3,962 1,586 2,930 2,505 2,823 4,628 3,081 3,400 2,644 2,623 Date 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 Silver (marks) 3,030 1,799 1,615 1,524 1,355 1,542 738 1,426 1,274 1,528 1,622 1,881 1,303 1,282 1,340 2,014 1,311 1,038 366 Date 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 Silver (marks) 762 748 798 783 685 849 599 1,352 382 462 391

3,381 2,915 4,234 3,645 1,947 6,600 3,852 3,642 2,367

METROLOGY: As Table A4/B4 SOURCE: J. Falke, Geschichte der Bergstadt Geyer, Mitteilungen des kniglichen schsischen Verein fr Erforschung und Erhaltung vaterlndisher Geschichts- und Kunstdenkmale, Hefte XV (1866), p. 34

5. BOHEMIA
(Map 1.1, Figures 1.1 and A5/1) In Bohemia from the mid-fifteenth century at Kuttenberg (Kutn Hora) a new phase of expansion took place as mines were driven to greater depths until by the end of that century the zone of primary deposits of the Oselsk and Griefsk veins were reached. From 1460-1510 such activity sustained an annual average output of ca. 1,930 marks. Problems of flooding, particularly in the older Oselsk (galenite) mines became acute, however, from the second decade of the new century and the years to 1546 witnessed a protracted struggle between the Crown and the town before the pits were closed down.49 In the interim compensation was provided by the opening up of the pyrites zone of the Staro esk or Ka kovsk deposits, which on average between 1510-1560 produced each year
49

J. Ko an, P ehledn D jiny eskosolovenskho Hornictvi (Praha, two volumes, 1955), I, pp. 88-91

71

ca 1,000 zentners of black copper yielding 50 ca 750 marks of silver but it was not before the working of the Turka sk deposits in the 1560s that Kuttenberg once again made a significant contribution to the European silver market. 51

Figure A5-1 Bohemia

Cologne marks
80,000

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0 1470 1475 1480 1485 1490 1495 1500 1505 1510 1515 1520 1525 1530 1535 1540 1545 1550 1555 1560 1565 1570

50

R. Klier, Nrnberg und Kuttenberg, Mitteilungen des Vereins fr Geschichte des Stadt Nrnberg, XLVIII (1958), p. 76 51 Ko an, eskosolovenskho Hornictv, I, p.195

72

Table A5/B1 Joachimstahl (Jchymov)

Date 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 Corporations operating each quarter I II III IV 1 1 2 4 7 7 7 15 12 14 25 18 23 23 28 34 32 29 30 29 28 22 25 21 26 20 27 33 28 26 30 22 27 18 20 29 33 24 25 35 31 26 35 32 28 23 31 31 27 17 22 29 24 20 23 24 26 22 25 28 34 20 28 31 35 29 26 29 32 27 32 23 22 20 18 21 21 18 23 18 19 14 27 28 23 15 33 43 33 35 42 43 31 29 41 47 41 35 44 35 36 36 45 36 34 20 39 39 30 31 47 40 40 36 40 Dividends per share (thaler)c (206) 255 591 405 428 330 233 229 252 118 256 305 241 119 112 133 213 264 168 62 58 58 122 114 155 126 88 128 166 Silver production b (mk) a (338) 3,506 12,879 22,143 32,030 33,347 29,639 35,276 41,235 33,375 49,049 56,437 53,372 43,308 43,567 50,510 63,039 71,728 61,119 48,545 45,254 44,306 50,371 47,013 49,082 43,066 35,727 38,022 38,648

METROLOGY (a) Erfurt mark= 0.2346 kg. SOURCES (b) G.W.Schenk, ber die Anfnge des Silberbergbaues von St Joachimstahl, Der Anschnitt, Jg. XX, 5 (1968), p.21 (c) K. Sternberg, Umrisse einer Geschichte der bhmischen Bergwerke (Prag, 1836-1838), Bd. 1, Abt. 2., pp. 415-427