Early Banknotes of the Habsburg Empire and Their Influence on Money Circulation in Transylvania
Early Banknotes of the Habsburg Empire and Their Influence on Money Circulation in Transylvania

Summary/Abstract: This paper presents a number of issues regarding money circulation in Transylvania, starting with the second half of the eighteenth century, under the influence of monetary regulations introduced in the Habsburg Empire in order to establish a single monetary system throughout its territory. The study focuses on the appearance and circulation of paper money in the transition from commodity money to currency as a symbol of value. The monetary itinerary begins with the appearance and circulation of the first banknotes (Bancozettel), followed by their repeated depreciations, the establishment of the Privileged Austrian National Bank and by the repeated renewal of its prerogative of issuing banknotes, by the transition from the Vienna currency system to the Convention currency system, by the ongoing efforts to ensure their convertibility under the pressure of a continuously increasing money demand. These monetary aspects are determined by historical, political, economic and social evolutions, reflected in a monetary item representative for the stability and authority of the Habsburg Empire, able to capture the spirit of the time and to withstand its passage, remaining an emblem, a glimpse into life and history.

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