На понос града : представе градске тврђаве на новцу Котора , Улциња , Свача , Скадра и Дриваста
For the Pride of the City : Representation of Citadels on the Coinage of Kotor , Ulcinj , Sva č, Skadar , Drivast

Summary/Abstract: In the Middle Ages, autonomous minting and issuing of coinage was a definite sign of the degree of independence and the economic power of the state, while in the smaller urban communities it was also an expression of status and confirmation of the city’s autonomy. Issuing of autonomous coinage in the cities reflected the autonomy and the privileges the cities had in relation to the central authorities. The increased development of merchandising and crafts of the 11th and 12th centuries in the Western cites, as well as in the coastal cities on the Adriatic sea brought the need for the cities’ coinage to be used in everyday transactions. As the coinage was minted to be used within the cities’ walls, the money of the cities had the specific iconography that was the sign of its origin, besides the coin legend, i.e. the inscription of the city’s name. The images and representations that were distributed on the money had the primary role of representing the city’s or communal identity. The concept and the need to promote the city’s unique identity is evident on the coinage minted in the Crusader city-states, as well as in the capital cities of the new states that emerged after the Byzantine empire fell in 1204. Cities would define their identities based upon the chosen patron saint of the city, the defender of community whose cult was observed on the entire territory of the city, whose cathedral church was at the centre of the urban life in the Middle Ages. On the other hand, the continuity of urban tradition, preserved in the form of city’s buildings, particularly castles, fortresses or citadels and the city’s walls,was an essential requirement for the subsistence of the Medieval cities. The solid citadel on the city’s money was often seen as a symbol of the city’s freedom. This is the reason why the patron saint of the city was most frequently represented on the obverse, while the citadel was on the reverse side of the coins. Images on the coinage were seen as testimonials of the duration and development of the cities and urban life. By merging of the secular character of the city, represented by its architecture, and its secular side, represented by the image of the city’s patron saint, the medieval city was represented on its coins as the ideal city, the pride of its citizens.

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