Folia Historica 31. (Budapest, 2016)

III. KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Enzsöl Imre: III. (VI.) Károly emlékérmei a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeumban

THE COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS OF CHARLES III (VI) IN THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

Summary

The Hungarian National Museum has 156 commemorative medals of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI - Charles III as king of Hungary, thus this is the second largest collection after the Münzkammer in Vienna.

The paper publishes medals primarily minted by the emperor, most of them are artistic representations of wars, battles, subjugations, and peace treaties. There are less medals on his personal events, such as birth, coronations, imperial/royal anniversaries, and death. Establishments and constructions also appear already, but they become emphasised in the reigns of Maria Theresa and Joseph II only.

There are interesting unique pieces praising the Empire, or unusually reporting on famine. The language of the baroque medals is primarily Latin, but on a few instances the national language, the German also appears, which became current under his successors.

From the Hungarian point of view the depiction of Pragmatic Sanction indicating the importance of ensuring that the Habsburg hereditary possessions could be inherited by a daughter. The important event of the Turkish wars, the reconquering of Temesvár in 1718 is also commemorated by medals.

By presenting the commemorative medals, a mean of propaganda the paper tries to acquaint the merits of Charles (1711-1740) underestimated by historiography.

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