Banovac
Banovac, banski denar or banica is the name of a coin struck and used in Croatia between 1235 and 1384. The name is derived from two words, ban and denarius. The word ban is a title of nobility used in Croatia, and roughly translates as "viceroy", whereas denarius is Latin for coins minted by the Roman Empire.
Banovac included the image of a marten - due to the fact that marten pelts were highly valued goods used as a form of payment in Slavonia, the Croatian Littoral, and Dalmatia. This was one of the reasons for naming the current currency of the Republic of Croatia the kuna. The coins were first minted in Pakrac, and from 1260 in Zagreb.
The legends are:
- MONETA REGIS P SCLAVONIA
- MONETA B REGIS P SCLAVONIA
- MONETA DVCIS P SCLAVONIA
- MONETA REGIS P VNGARIA
Initials on the Árpád Dynasty coins are:
- King Bela IV :
- o - o,
- lily - lily,
- bird - bird,
- h - R
- King Stephen V
- S - R,
- R - S
- King Ladislaus IV
- R - L,
- L - R,
- S - L,
- R - R - L
- King Andrew III
- R - A,
- A - R,
- S - A,
- R - bird,
- A - bird
