original scientific article	UDC 94:336.74(497.4/.5Istra)"15/17"
received: 2008-07-24
VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE
Darko DAROVEC
University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre of Koper, SI-6000 Koper, Garibaldijeva 1 University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities of Koper, SI-6000 Koper, Titov trg 5 e-mail: darko.darovec@zrs.upr.si
ABSTRACT
Strong economic ties with hinterland Slovene and Croatian places under the Hapsburg rule, and in particular with Trieste and partly with Rijeka, were of vital importance to the inhabitants of Venetian northern Istrian towns and their hinterlands. One of the arguments speaking in favour of such a conclusion is the large amount of Austrian money that was in circulation in Venetian Istria. Moreover, in the second half of the 18th century, the Austrian currency became the most important means of payment not only in direct trade exchange, but also in all important national, provincial and municipal financial institutions in Venetian Istria. Interestingly, the inner Austrian provinces witnessed a similar phenomenon in the 16th century, yet in that case, those provinces tried to lessen the importance of the Venetian currency, as there was a period when Carniola boasted a more favourable exchange rate for the Venetian currency than other Austrian provinces. Thus the phenomenon could be regarded as the formation of a special Carniolan currency within the Hapsburg monarchy. By contrast, the 18th century saw a formation of a special Istrian exchange rate for the Austrian currency within the Venetian Republic.
Key words: Istria, economy, coins, early modern age
MONETE VENEZIANE E AUSTRIACHE IN ISTRIA NELL'ETA MODERNA
SINTESI
I forti legami economici con l'entroterra sloveno e croato sotto l'impero Asburgico, e soprattutto i legami con Trieste e in parte con Fiume, erano di vitale importanza per gli abitanti dei paesi veneziani dell'Istria settentrionale e per il loro territorio dell'entroterra. Uno degli elementi che parla a favore di tale conclusione e il gran numero di monete austriache che era in circolazione nell'Istria veneziana. Inoltre, nella seconda meta del 18" secolo, la valuta austriaca divenne il mezzo di pagamento piu importante non soltanto nel commercio e nello scambio diretto, ma anche in tutte le istituzioni nazionali, provinciali e comunali piu importanti nell'Istria veneziana. E interessante notare come le province interne dell'Austria furono testimoni di un fenomeno simile nel 16" secolo quando le monete veneziane venivano utilizzate nelle province austriache. In questo caso le province interessate cercarono di bloccare la diffusione della valuta veneziana perché in quel periodo la Carniola aveva un tasso di cambio molto piu vantag-gioso per la valuta veneziana, se paragonato alle altre province austriache. Il fenomeno puo quindi essere visto come la formazione di una valuta speciale per la Carniola all'interno della monarchia degli Asburgo. Per contro, nel 18" secolo si sviluppo un tasso di cambio speciale istriano per la valuta austriaca all'interno della Repubblica di Venezia.
Parole chiave: Istria, economía, monete, inizio dell'eta moderna
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
INTRODUCTION
From the point of view of economic history, the most important finding related to the Istrian peninsula during the Venetian rule is that the period from the mid-13th to the mid-16th centuries was marked by relatively favourable economic trends - at least if compared with the neighbouring Italian area and hinterlands of today's Slovenia and Croatia - while the period from the mid-16th to the beginning of the 19th century was marked by stagnation and even economic recession, which was in strong connection with the intensity of trade exchange with the immediate hinterland, in particular with places lying in today's Slovenia and Croatia and with Trieste.
There are several reasons underlying the developments that had an influence on the economic structure of the Istrian society, with one of the most important being undoubtedly related to the universal historical development following the discovery of America and the resulting shift of the main European trade currents from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coasts. Though the impact of the geographical discoveries on the economic (in)stability of the Venetian Republic was not felt immediately, the inability of economy to adapt itself to the course of events was revealed as soon as the first major crisis broke out, which resulted from military battles with the expanding Ottoman Empire on the one hand, and from the struggle for economic primacy with the neighbouring Catholic countries on the other. From the 16th century on, the results of mostly military triumphs, which however brought no major acquisitions to the Republic, which was relatively small at that time, encompassing the Adriatic area and a few Greek enclaves, were most strongly felt in the provinces, in particular in Istria and along the Dalmatian coast (Cf. Zannini, 1999; Raukar, 2000; Budak, 1987, 1-21). The continual threats of warfare and Turkish incursions, together with recurrent plague epidemics that often struck the war-torn and impoverished areas, left an indelible mark on Istrian economic and, consequently, demographic trends.
That was also a period when the Hapsburg monarchy started to protect its ports of Trieste and Rijeka by introducing obligatory trade routes and by increasing taxes, due to which the traditional trade routes of the hinterland Austrian population no longer led to Venetian Istria. By the second half of the 17w century, the flourishing trade with the Austrian province of Carniola, which brought to Venetian Istria and in particular to its towns of Koper, Piran and Muggia from three hundred to one thousand carters per day, witnessed a rapid decline. Despite the inflow of immigrants largely from the Turkish-governed Balkans, the decimated population of Istrian coastal towns and their immediate hinterland did not manage to recover economically and to adapt themselves to contemporary economic trends by introducing pub-
lishing activities, manufacturing and new products in the fields of craft, agriculture and non-agrarian sectors. Though the immigrants did stir the Istrian demography and economy and fill in the abandoned areas, their poor economic condition and attachment to traditional farming and livestock breeding practices prevented them from introducing contemporary economic methods (Bertosa, 1986; Darovec, 2004, 21-64; Erceg, 1980, 229-250; Ivetic, 1999). As a result, until the mid-18th century, when the new inhabitants consolidated their position and integrated with the mainstream Istrian economic practices and social customs, the persistence of the traditional Istrian economy such as the production of salt, wine, olive oil and salted fish - with all of them except the latter produced in much large quantities in northwestern Istria than in the rest of Venetian Istria - presented a hindrance rather than a stimulus to progress. To provide an example, the second half of the 17th century witnessed attempts to introduce sericulture to Istria, which however turned out to be unsuccessful since the population did not own adequate resources to introduce the new culture, while the state, though having issued laws encouraging the sericulture development, exhibited no real interest for providing financial and material resources necessary for the development of this industry.
ISTRIAN TRADE WITH VENICE
AND AUSTRIAN HINTERLAND
A considerable factor influencing the state of Istrian economy was also the Venetian taxation policy. In addition to the fact that all products intended for export by sea had to be first transported to Venice to taxation, from the end of the first half of the 17th century, the insatiable state treasury, which had lost vast European markets, kept raising taxes imposed not only on almost all profitable products, but also on products intended for home use. Local authorities did everything not to lag behind. Thus, the commune of Koper imposed the heaviest taxes on wine production, while the commune of Piran gained most profit from taxes on salt and olive oil production. The response of the local population was anything but surprising, in particular if one takes into account the trade in traditional products in the past. Increased taxes provided additional spur to smuggling, which no intimidating penalty policy managed to restrain. On the contrary, the higher the taxes, the more intensive the contraband. The effects proved harmful not only to the state treasury, which could have easily made it without Istrian tax money that accounted for an extremely modest sum in comparison with the tax revenues from other areas within the Venetian Republic, but in particular to Istrian communes since lower taxation revenues prevented them from investing money in infrastructure development or in projects that would facilitate the economic revival.
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
In general, in the 18th, as well as in the previous centuries, the most important economic issues in Venetian Istria were related to the trade with the hinterland Austrian provinces. In 1608, the Koper Podesta e Capitano1 Marin Gradenico stated that almost the whole town depended on the trade with Carniolans and their corn, adding that it would be better if the inhabitants replaced numerous vines with cereals, as it was the case at Crete. There were two reasons speaking in favour of such a decision: firstly, the commune's production of cereals would increase, and secondly, there would be no need to sell or kill oxen, which their owners did in order to avoid the carratada.2 "Lately, many oxen died owing to frost and lack of hay, and some people even fed them with straw from thatched roofs," reads the vivid explanation of the Koper Podesta e Capitano (REL, 1, 147). Not half a century later (i.e., in 1652), the then Koper Podesta e Capitano Stefano Capello recalled his visits to Koper during his youth, when the cross-border trade with Austrian provinces was thriving. Not only Capello, but also older people remembered that at that time archdukes (arciducali) with as many as 200 or even 300 horses per day would come to Koper, which amounted to 50,000 cargoes per year. Istrian products were exchanged for cereals, cheese, wool, hide, iron, meet, in particular beef, which was sold in butcher's shops of Istrian towns, as well as for various products, usually made of wood, such as barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, wardrobes, chests, etc. Later on, however, this traffic almost died out. "Carniolans prefer to transport their goods to Trieste, Duino, Bakar and Rijeka than to our places. In addition, Trieste is setting up salt works on our grounds, while the salt pans of Koper and Muggia are starting to decay despite the fact that Trieste salt is more expensive than ours" (REL, 1, 341).
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Istrian salt was sold even to the remote Austrian interior. Despite recurrent changes in the demarcation of areas allowed to import sea or rock salt (in 1543, Ferdinand I determined a new demarcation line stretching from Eisenkappel to the confluence of the Dravinja and Drava rivers beyond which sea salt was not allowed to be exported; Gestrin, 1965, 153), Istrian salt presented the basis for mediating country merchants to expand their trade further to the north, at least to the Drava river and even further towards Hungary (Gestrin, 1965, 148-155; Vilfan, 1983, 5-20). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the supremacy over the sea salt trade with hinterland Austrian provinces was taken over mainly by Trieste and partly by Rijeka and Bakar.3
Nevertheless, in the 17th and 18th centuries, Istrian trade with the hinterland did not die out completely, but witnessed numerous ups and downs as in the previous period and developed new forms and relations. Thus in 1670, the Koper Podesta e Capitano Pietro Loredan reported with satisfaction that the area saw the revival of the trade with the Austrians, who would come to Koper on a daily basis "in order to exchange their timber for Istrian salt, as well as wine and olive oil. The fiscal chamber obtains as many as 9,500 liras per year merely through salt tax. In addition, it also receives revenues from the timber tax when timber is exported out of town." He concluded by drawing the attention of the Venetian rulers to the necessity of preserving this type of trade, otherwise the town's future could be at stake (REL, 2, 106).
Yet the future of this branch of Istrian economy depended not so much on internal economic and political conditions as on the Venetian foreign policy, more precisely on conflicts and struggles with the Austrian monarchy. Countless letters and complaints written by either party were sent to competent Venetian offices. As early as around 1640, Venetian officials reported on barricades of roads leading from the hinterland to Venetian Istria (REL, 1, 321). In 1661, the inhabitants of Trieste set up a wall with a height of almost 4 metres (2 passi; passus or staff = 191.2 cm; Mihelic, 1985, 30) at the village of Ricmanje, thus blocking the road to Muggia and other places in Venetian Istria. The blockage "causes great detriment to all Istrian places and their free trade, in particular to the salt trade with the Carniolans, and is a cause of great concern for these poor local people," the then Koper Podesta e Capitano reported to the Venetian office for borders (Provveditori dei Confini), demanding from its supervisors to solve the problem. He regarded the free trade with the hinterland as a historical right, "as it is evident from documents and drawings, as well as from history itself" (ASV, 3). He continued with a thorough description of two cases and agreements of 1463 and 1486, explaining that in both cases the two parties agreed that muleteers should not be forced to go to places where they did not want to, which was also included in all ensuing peace treaties (Gestrin, 1965, 60 sq.).
In general, Venetian regulations on hinterland trade were based on two types of agreements:
-	those directly related to Trieste dating from 1223 and 1463 and
-	those signed with the Hapsburg monarchy in 1370 and 1486.
1	Podesta e Capitano, Podesta and Captain, was the head of the Koper commune and, in some respects, the most important official in I stria. As regards the heads of other Istrian communes, their titles varied: they could be called the Podesta, the Captain or even the Count. In the article, the term Podesta will be used to refer to them.
2	Carratada (from carro, It. = cart) was the obligatory socage service for all owners of oxen (cf. Klen, 1963).
3	On the importance of salt production at that time, cf. Hocquet, 1990.
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
Fig. 1: lacopo Contarini (1275-1280), grosso (grosso) coined in Venice, kept by the Numismatic cabinet of the National Museum of Slovenia, (NKNMS) LJ42689. SI. 1: lacopo Contarini (1275-1280), gros (grosso), kovan v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ42689.
Fig. 2: Pietro Gradenigo (1289-1311), ducat (ducato) from the Krško treasure find 1930), coined in Venice, kept by NKNMS LJ42701.
SI. 2: Pietro Gradenigo (1289-1311), dukat (ducato), iz zakladne najdbe Krško (1930), kovan v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ42701.
Fig. 3: Pietro Gradenigo (1289-1311), denaro (denaro o piccolo scodellato) coined in Venice, from the Vrh-trebnje treasure find (1932), kept by NKNMS LJ17082. SI. 3: Pietro Gradenigo (1289-1311), denarič (denaro o piccolo scodellato), kovan v Benetkah, iz zakladne najdbe Vrhtrebnje (1932), hrani NKNMS LJ17082.
Fig. 4: Anonymous coining, bagattino coined since 1547 in Venice, kept by NKNMS LJ49270. Sl. 4: Anonimno kovanje, bagattino, kovan od 1547 v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ49270.
Fig. 5: Nicolo da Ponte (1578-1585), sequin (zecchino) coined in Venice, kept by NKNMS LJ49143. Sl. 5: Nicolo da Ponte (1578-1585), cekin (zecchino), kovan v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ49143.
Fig. 6: Pasquale Cicogna (1585-1595), scudo della croce (worth 7 liras) coined in 1592 in Venice, kept by NKNMS LJ49146.
Sl. 6: Pasquale Cicogna (1585-1595), scudo della croce da 7 lire, kovan 1592 v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ49146.
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
The agreements stipulated the abolition of taxes on livestock, wine and oil traded between Venetian Istria and Austrian provinces, which was reaffirmed in 1610 by the Austrian and Spanish ambassadors in the Venetian Great Council. In addition, they also included provisions on the elimination of all obstacles to the Istrian trade with Carniola. As a result, the Venetians were expected to ensure free access to Trieste by sea, which they had blocked with their armed ships. Similar agreements were also concluded in 1634, 1645 and 1689, yet both sides violated them on far too many occasions.
For centuries, the Venetian Republic claimed ownership of the Adriatic Sea. Though sea navigation presented a substantial source of income, in 1644 the Koper Podesta e Capitano Francesco Tron complained about the Austrian sea trade: "The Austrians do not adhere to our regulations nor pay the taxes they are obliged to. In my opinion, we should introduce a new measure entitling us to seize all their goods or throw the cargo overboard or capture and punish them on their return. Otherwise, they are protected by their imperial ambassadors." He also suggested that all ships intended to disembark at Trieste should make a stop at Koper to pay the taxes there (REL, 1, 332).
Even foreign ships that stopped at the port of Trieste after it had been granted the status of a free port had to pay the shipping fee. Such a policy, however, proved devastating to Istria, that is why its inhabitants tried to launch their products on interesting markets through other channels despite strict control. Legal and above all illegal trade was redirected partly to the Friuli region and to a slightly larger extent to Trieste, where their clientele remained more or less the same as in the past. The period also witnessed a boom in illegal trade with Carniola.
For these reasons, the Venetian diplomacy made every effort to increase the legal trade with the Austrian hinterland, and in 1670 the then Koper Podesta e Capitano issued a satisfactory report. Yet the improved state of affairs only partly resulted from the direct negotiations for free Istrian trading routes. To a much larger extent, it was a consequence of the developments in internal and foreign affairs. Between 1668 and 1670, the Austrian monarchy witnessed an uprising of Hungary and Croatian nobility called the Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy. The Venetians had maintained close ties with the Frankopani for several centuries, and the Hapsburgs, naturally, also tried to win their support. In order to assure peace at borders, the Venetians were relatively "tolerant" of the Austrian sea trade, as well as of incessant border struggles between various Istrian communities.
A new round of Austrian-Venetian negotiations followed between 1694 and 1698, when their borders
were once again threatened by their traditional common enemy, the Ottoman Empire, with which the Venetians were in war for Crete and the Hapsburgs for Belgrade. Thus the two parties agreed that the issues related to the free trade in salt would be solved directly by the fiscal chamber of Graz and the communes of Koper and Mug-gia and that the Austrian subjects were allowed to transport all products except for salt by sea (Golfo). Yet this agreement also failed because:
the Austrians could not stand that the Venetian officials searched each and every ships of theirs and
the Venetians could not bear the thought that for a low of 8,000 modi4 of Istrian salt they exerted no control at all over the trade in all other products that their people conducted with the Austrians by (their own!) sea.
To make the matter worse, it was right in the middle of the negotiations that a ship was stopped that had sailed from Barletta (north of Bari) to Bakar with a shipload of salt. The salt of Barletta must have formed part of a far-reaching Austrian strategy to provide the ports of Trieste and Rijeka with this commodity. According to the Count Antonio Sabini, a Venetian counsellor, the strategy was the main reason beneath the imperial edict that in 1718 prohibited "all imperial subjects to buy salt in whichever place in Istria. The number of toll-houses has witnessed a considerable increase so that it is neither in Koper nor in Muggia that one can notice Carniolans in search for salt; the living standard of local population is deteriorating, and the excisemen of the salt tax are witnessing hard times since the salt tax is one of the most important revenues of the fiscal chamber." As a result, Sabini implored Serenissima to take into account the famine going on for several months as a consequence of the shortage of corn and to protect the poor people whose only means of survival was the salt trade (ASV, 4).
Thus, the 18th century saw no major changes in interstate relations on hinterland trade and sea traffic. Each party insisted on its standpoint, with the Venetian economic and military position in the Mediterranean witnessing a continuing deterioration, most probably resulting from their declared independence and policy of non-interference in military struggles taking place in their neighbouring areas and beyond. Such a stand infuriated many European nations, in particular the Austri-ans, who had to bear all encumbrances of the warfare with the fairly exhausted Sublime Porte (Cf. Lane, 1978, 450 sq.). Therefore, the Hapsburg monarchy took the liberty of introducing their own economic rules to the northern Adriatic area more often than in the past, which means that the area witnessed various recurring prohibitions, physical and financial blockades, as well as the imposition of high taxes on Venetian goods.
4 A dry measure for salt. In Istria, a modi of salt equalled 801 kg of salt (cf. Darovec, 2004, 333-335), whereas in Venice, it equalled 897 kg (cf. Hocquet, 1990, 55).
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
Fig. 7: Francesco Erizzo (1631-1646), sequin (zecchino) coined in Venice, kept by NKNMS LJ49176. SI. 7: Francesco Erizzo (1631-1646), cekin (zecchino), kovan v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ49176.
Fig. 8: Francesco Molin (1646-1655), bezzo or mezzo soldo coined in Venice, kept by NKNMS LJ49183. Sl. 8: Francesco Molin (1646-1655), bezzo o mezzo soldo, kovan v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ49183.
Fig. 9: Francesco Molin (1646-1655), double bagattino (doppio bagattino) coined in Venice, kept by NKNMS LJ49184.
Sl. 9: Francesco Molin (1646-1655), dvojni bagattino (doppio bagattino), kovan v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ49184.
Fig. 10: Pietro Grimani (1741-1752), sequin coined in Venice, kept by NKNMS LJ49231.
SI. 10: Pietro Grimani (1741-1752), zecchino, kovan v Benetkah, hrani NKNMS LJ49231.
Fig. 11: Archduke Sigismund (1439-1490), florint / gul-diner (Guldiner), coined in 1486 in Hall, kept by NKNMS LJ30504.
Sl. 11: nadvojvoda Sigismund (1439-1490), florint / goldinar (Guldiner), kovan 1486 v Hallu, hrani NKNMS LJ30504.
Fig. 12: Michael von Kuenburg (1554-1560), guldiner (Guldiner) coined in 1559 in Salzburg, kept by NKNMS LJ49070.
SI. 12: Michael von Kuenburg (1554-1560), goldinar (Guldiner), kovan 1559 v Salzburgu, hrani NKNMS LJ49070.
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
Despite all these measures, the strong economic ties with hinterland Slovene and Croatian places under the Hapsburg rule, and in particular with Trieste and partly with Rijeka, were of great - one could also call it vital -importance to the inhabitants of northern Istrian towns and their hinterlands. One of the arguments speaking in favour of such a conclusion is the large amount of Austrian money circulating through Venetian Istria during that period. Especially in the second half of the 18w century, the Austrian currency became the most important means of payment not only in direct trade exchange, but also in all important national, provincial and communal financial institutions in Venetian Istria.
AUSTRIAN MONEY IN VENETIAN ISTRIA
Throughout the second half of the 18th century, the central Venetian monetary offices (Deputati, ed Aggionti sopra la provision del dinaro pubblico) strove hard with large amounts of Austrian money in Istria, yet in vain. "All financial institutions are overflowed with Austrian petizze and soldoni, so that it is almost impossible to find Venetian money," was the usual complaint of Istrian Podestas. In 1766, the Venetian Senate sent a sum of 200,567 liras5 to Istria in order to replace the Austrian money with the Venetian and thus "purify" some financial institutions. "This intrusion of imperial soldoni causes great detriment to our trade since their value has been overestimated and doubled in relation to their copper content. Something should be done, also in terms of legislation, to remove them from the Province," the Venetian treasury official (lnq.r agli ori e monete) Sebastiano Foscarini warned the authorities (SR, 1, 276277). Nevertheless in 1777 the Koper Podesta e Capitano Antonio Dolfin reported that the Province was overflowed with at least a million Austrian ducats that had not been uprooted by the official devaluation of a pe-tizza from 30 to 29 Venetian soldi6 nor by the repeated prohibitions against the use of Austrian money in any kind of financial transactions (ASV, 8; ASV, 9). "Imperial soldoni are the only means of payment in the Province. They have contaminated even all pawn shops and granaries in Istria, where you can find large sums of imperial money with unreal value. The Austrians have ordered their officials in Gorica and Rijeka to use only their money, so ducats are being brought to Istria and exchanged at a higher ratio," Dolfin complained (REL, 5, 219).
This economic dependence on hinterland Austrian provinces, and in particular on Trieste, therefore gave rise to special exchange rates that in the 18th century the
Venetian financial and other administrative institutions did not manage to control largely owing to the increasing amount of Austrian money in circulation in Istrian public financial institutions. Interestingly, inner Austrian provinces witnessed a similar phenomenon in the 16th century, yet in that case those crown lands tried to lessen the importance of the Venetian currency since Carniola boasted a more favourable exchange rate for the Venetian currency than other Austrian provinces. The Slovene historian Sergij Vilfan interpreted the phenomenon as the formation of a special Carniolan currency within the Hapsburg monarchy. The 18th century, by contrast, saw the formation of special Istrian exchange rates for the Austrian currency within the Venetian Republic (Vilfan, 1986, 405-407).
In addition to the above-mentioned peripeteia with the Austrian petizze, which in Istria equalled 30 Venetian soldi till the end of the Venetian Republic, Istria also boasted special exchange rates for Venetian money, at least as regards the daily trade in goods. Thus in 1795, the Koper Podesta e Capitano Marin Badoer complained that, not only in Koper but also throughout the province of Istria, the field of exchange rates was in a state of total chaos. He reported that a Venetian ducat equalled 8 liras and 14 or 15 soldi and a Bavarian thaler 10 liras and 14 soldi, whereas a scudo was worth only 12 liras. As a result, "people suffer great loss when purchasing goods in Venice, and the prices of goods in Istria are on increase." (REL, 4, 334). Yet his findings most probably did not trouble the inhabitants of Istria since, as the Podesta e Capitano established, active, passive and cumulative trade was conducted mainly with the neighbouring monarchy. Taking into account also the fact that the Venetian money was only rarely used, it is much easier to account for the overestimated value of the Austrian currency and underestimated value of the Venetian currency. Thus when taking up office on 5 May, 1787, the new treasurer of the Koper Monte di Pieta, Alessandro Gavardo, was handed over the pawn shop's capital in the total amount of 291,194 liras, of which only 0.23% were in liras, i.e. a Venetian currency unit, while the rest was in Austrian petizze (with a petizza equalling 30 Venetian soldi; ASV, 1), regardless of the Senate decree that the cash boxes of public institutions could hold only a third of their total capital in Austrian money (ASV, 9). The register of currencies held by the Koper Monte di Pieta in 1794 reveals not only a wide variety of official exchange rates of foreign and Venetian money circulating in the institution, but also the economic relations of that time. The pawn shop held three cash boxes (one for current business, one for net profit, and one for public health servi-
5	The countervalue of the Austrian money held by communal cash boxes, granaries and luoghi pii in Istria amounted to 200,567 liras (ASV, 10).
6	The Podesta of Raspor was ordered to publish the decree of 14 May, 1761, on the devaluation of foreign currencies, including the d evaluation of a petizza from 30 to 29 Venetian soldi (ASV, 5, cf. also ASV, 6 and ASV, 7).
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
Table 1: Currency units in circulation from the 16th to the 18th century in ¡stria. Tabela 1: Valutne enote v obtoku od 16. do 18. stoletja v ¡stri.
currency unit	value in liras						
	Year	around 1590	16477	17408	17949	179510	Boerio
scudo		6:411	9:10	12:8	12:612	1213	12:8
sequin14		8:1215	16:10	22			25:10
ducatone		6:416	8:8		817	8:15	8
genuine18							4
doppion			58				168
doppia			29				
mezza doppia			14:10				
petizze al corrente valor (petizza as a unit of account)				1:1019	1:10		
petizze					620		
imperial soldoni (bezzo?)21					0:0:6		
bezzo22			0:0:6				
papalini23					14:8:6		
goldgulden24			16		23:16		24:10
olandesi (a type of Dutch money)					23:13		
mezzi sovrani					35:5:6		
pezze di Spagna (a type of Spanish money)					10:17		
monete imperiali (a type of Austrian money)					8		
talari Aquiloni ("Aquiloni" thaler)					11		
konventionsthaler (Bavarian thalers)					10	10:14	
talari al corrente valor (thaler as a unit of account)					12		
filippi25							
kreuzer		0:1:626					
karantan (a type of Austrian money)				0:227			
florin (gulden28)		4:10					5:5
* In accordance with the sources, the first colon separates liras from soldi, and the next soldi from denarii.
7	AST, 1.
8	Benussi, 1928, 227-236.
9	ASV, 2.
10	REL, 4, 334.
11	Coined in 1578; Benussi, 1928, 230.
12	Cf. note 24 (papalini).
13	The source (REL, 4, 334) refers to it as crociato, which could be confused with kreutzer (Kreuzer = Kreuz - cross in German). However, a cross was also engraved on the Venetian scudo, which was called Scudo della croce (Boerio, 1856, 637).
14	According to the source (AST, 1) Cichin. Boerio, 1856, 808: Zechin or Zecchino, a gold coin at the end of the Venetian Republic worth 22 liras; later on, it equaled 12 Italian liras and 75 centesimi or 25 Venetian liras and 10 soldi.
15	For 1570; Hocquet, 1990, 566.
16	Coined in 1561; Benussi, 1928, 230.
17	"... effettivi a lire 8" (ASV, 2).
18	According to the source of 1687 (AST, 2). Boerio, 1856, 303: "Genuina, Genovina or Genovino. A silver coin of the Republic of Genoa, which was also used in Venice where it was worth 4 Venetian liras, and abolished under the Venetian rule. Genuina d'oro or Doppia di Genova was a gold coin equalling around 96 Austrian liras or 168 Venetian liras, still in use today. "
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
ces) in which there were altogether 92,274 liras and 17 soldi. Yet the first cash box held only 5,530 Venetian liras and the third 297 liras in silver ducats (effetivi), which means that only 6.3% of the total sum accounted for Venetian money. The rest was held in foreign currencies: 1,329 liras and 17 soldi or 1.44% of the total sum were in currencies that were neither Venetian nor Austrian, and 85,118 liras or more than 92% were in Austrian money. In addition to petizze, the Koper Monte di Pieta also used the thaler as a unit of account for calculating the value of Austrian money.
The comparison of the exchange rates of the late 18th century with those of the former two centuries, in particular as regards the sequin as the basic monetary unit and the golden base of the Venetian monetary system, gives an interesting picture of the movement of exchange rates in Istria.29
How it is possible that the inhabitants of Istria accumulated such large amounts of Austrian money if all surpluses of their main products - except for wine that was heavily taxed when exported to Carniola - had to be submitted to Venice from where the Venetian merchants sold them all over the world? It is really possible that all that profit came only from wine trade and from a few hundred urns of oil that they were allowed to export to Carniola, or from salt that they were obliged to sell to the Venetian salt office first and, if anything remained, to the commune, or from trade in various goods and craft products that they possessed in quantities far too low to be exported? The only reasonable explanation could be that they earned their modest livings largely by smuggling various types of products, fruit, silk, olive oil, wine, salt, fish, etc. Almost each activity for which they had not paid at least the export tax was regarded as an act of smuggling. Yet in Istria, the revenues from taxes imposed on the above-mentioned goods were anything but high, and in no way they could account for such a large amount of Austrian money in the province. The reports written by Venetian Podestas give us countless proofs of that.
In 1764, the Koper Podesta e Capitano claimed that "all retail trade is related to this Austrian money for the simple reason that trading is largely conducted with Trieste and only to a minor extent with the Dominanta", adding that "wine and silk account only for the smaller part of commercial traffic, while larger quantities of salt, mostly smuggled by sea, are sold in Trieste after they have been kept in the town's warehouses" (REL, 4, 122). At that time, the ports of Trieste and Rijeka indeed purchased immense quantities of salt, which were provided not only by Istria and the two towns themselves, but also by the Kingdom of Naples (REL, 2, 156).
Despite the fact that the last quarter of the 18th century witnessed several attempts to establish land routes to Trieste in order to facilitate control over the trade between Trieste and the towns of Venetian Istria, in particular Koper, which was "the only town in the Province entitled to claim such a name", the majority of trade and in particular smuggling routes were related to the sea. Venetian Po-destas issued numerous complaints that only two ships (feluchi) were not enough to efficiently control sea trade and to prevent detrimental smuggling. In addition, they were far too slow so that smugglers could spot them from far away and easily avoid them (Cf. REL, 4, 306-310, August 1774; REL, 4, 330-337, May 1795; REL, 5, 228232, February 1780).
Smuggling caused considerable losses to the Venetians. In 1 784, the Koper Podesta e Capitano stressed that the export of Istrian olive oil to Carniola was of paramount importance for public finances. Yet the regality could be collected only when the oil was shipped "to our capital. /.../ Owing to more favourable prices, better transport conditions and more reliable and prompt contracts, the major part of oil ends in foreign ports, in particular in nearby Trieste. The phenomenon has reached such a scale that it can no longer be attributed only to the vile aspirations of cunning smugglers, but also to the inadequate professional performance of people whose sacred duty is to disapprove of and combat this activity. And
19	ASV, 9. Nevertheless, in 1761, the Podesta of Raspor was o rdered to exchange the petizza at 29 soldi (SM, 1, 212).
20	In 1788, the Koper Podesta e Capitano inspected the Monte di Pieta of Rovinj and discovered that a petizza was exchanged at 6 liras (ASV, 2).
21	Soldone austriaco di rame (ASV, 8). According to Sergij Vilfan, these black small coins (bezzo?) with a value of a half a Venetian soldo were mostly made of copper. However, around 1400 one could find white and black coins at Vienna that were made of silver (Vilfan, 1986, 403). As regards the Austrian soldone and its value of a half of a Venetian soldo cf. also Benussi, 1928, 230 and 232.
22	REL, 2, 115-119, June 1672. A copper coin with a value of a half a soldo, as well as a general term for money (Boerio, 1856, 78).
23	The value calculated on the basis of a Venetian effective ducat worth 8 liras (N."2 Papalini, et un veneto sono scudi 3 - lire 36:18).
24	Ongaro or Unghero, a gold coin coined in Hungary with a value of 24 Venetian liras and 10 soldi; Boerio, 1856, 451.
25	According to the source of 1687 (AST, 2), the coin was registered in the cash boxes of the Koper Fonticus (granary) and Monte di Pieta (pawn shop) with no reference to its value.
26	Vilfan, 1986, 407; a kreuzer equalled 1/60 of a florin.
27	REL, 3, 73, August 1748.
28	Vilfan, 1986, 407.
29	As regards the formation of currency ratios and price fluctation during the Venetian reign in Istria cf. Darovec, 2004, 65-90; cf. also Panjek, 2004, 62; Braudel, Sponer, 1975.
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
Fig. 13: Archduke Ferdinand (1564-1595), kreuzer (Kreuzer) coined in 1568 in Hall, kept by NKNMS LJ48460.
Sl. 13: nadvojvoda Ferdinand (1564-1595), krajcer (Kreuzer), kovan 1568 v Hallu, hrani NKNMS LJ48460.
Fig. 14: Ferdinand III (1627/37-1657) (coining for Hungary), gold gulden (Goldgulden, ongari imperiali) coined in 1657 in Kremnica, kept by NKNMS LJ48531. Sl. 14: Ferdinand III. (1627/37-1657) (kovanje za Ogrsko), zlatnik (Goldgulden, ongari imperiali), kovan 1657 v Kremnici, hrani NKNMS Lf48531.
Fig. 15: Maria Theresia (1740-1780) (coining for Gori-zia), soldo coined in 1768 in Graz, kept by NKNMS LJ27677.
Sl. 15: Maria Theresia (1740-1780) (kovanje za Gorico), soldo, kovan 1768 v Gradcu, hrani NKNMS LJ27677.
Fig. 16: Maria Theresia (1740-1780) (coining for hereditary lands), 5 kreutzers (Kreuzer) coined in Hall, kept by NKNMS LJ48706.
Sl. 16: Maria Theresia (1740-1780) (kovanje za dedne dežele), 5 krajcarjev (Kreuzer), kovan 1778 v Hallu, hrani NKNMS LJ48706.
Fig. 17: Maria Theresia (1740-1780) (coining for hereditary lands), thaler (Taler) coined in 1765 in Vienna, kept by NKNMS LJ14886.
Sl. 17: Maria Theresia (1740-1780) (kovanje za dedne dežele), tolar (Taler), kovan 1765 na Dunaju, hrani NKNMS LJ14886.
Fig. 18: Maximilian III Josef (1745-1777), Bavarian thaler (Konventionsthaler) coined in 1766 in Munich, from the Motvoz treasure find (1994), kept by NKNMS LJ51839.
Sl. 18: Maximilian III. Josef (1745-1777), bavarski tolar (Konventionsthaler), kovan 1766 v Munchenu, iz zaklad-ne najdbe Motvoz (1994), hrani NKNMS LJ51839.
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
what is even worse, part of this oil is then transported to the Austrian Friuli region from where it returns to Veneto or other nearby areas through underground smuggling channels at a considerably higher price, thus causing double harm to our economy, for which no other words can be used but the most serious damage."30
In a way, olive oil was no exception as similar things happened in wine trade. Wine was exported to the island of Cres, naturally without subjecting it to taxation, from where it was transported to the Austrian coastal towns of Rijeka and Bakar, again with no taxes levied (REL, 2, 119).
The establishment of the so-called first Austrian rule in Istria brought no real change, at least to the field of taxation. The Austrians took over the Venetian taxation system and, owing to recurring wars, the taxes kept rising. It is true that for certain products the market opened up, in particular for salt, yet smuggling lost in importance since the inhabitants of Istria, previously split between the Venetian Republic and the Hapsburg Empire, were now under the same rule, together with the inhabitants of Carniola and Trieste. Having lost their main source of income, many Is-trian people who used to make their livings by smuggling, as well as many exiled smugglers who had been officially prohibited to return to their homeland, turned to robbery, yet owing to the establishment of new borders smuggling
survived well into the 20th century (cf. Rozac Darovec, 2006).
CONCLUSION
Strong economic ties of Venetian northern Istrian towns with hinterland Slovene and Croatian places under the Hapsburg rule were of vital importance. In the 16th century when the former were economically still better developed than the latter, Carniola witnessed a more favourable exchange rate for the Venetian currency than other Austrian provinces, which led to the formation of a special Venetian-Carniolan currency within the Hapsburg monarchy. By contrast, the 18th century, marked by the decline of Venice and the rise of the Hapsburg lands, saw the formation of a special Is-trian-Austrian curreny within the Venetian Republic.
One of the arguments speaking in favour of such a conclusion is the large amount of Austrian money that was in circulation in Venetian Istria. Moreover, in the second half of the 18th century, the Austrian currency became the most important means of payment not only in direct trade exchange, but also in all important national, provincial and municipal financial institutions in Venetian Istria.
BENEŠKI IN AVSTRIJSKI DENAR V ISTRI V NOVEM VEKU
Darko DAROVEC
Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstvenoraziskovalno središče Koper, SI-6000 Koper, Garibaldijeva 1 Univerza na Primorskem, Fakulteta za humanistične študije Koper, SI-6000 Koper, Titov trg 5 e-mail: darko.darovec@zrs.upr.si
POVZETEK
V pogledu gospodarske zgodovine je za istrski polotok v obdobju beneške nadoblasti poglavitna ugotovitev, da je za obdobje od srede 16. do začetka 19. stoletja značilna stagnacija in celo upad gospodarskega razvoja v severni, še bolj pa v preostali beneški Istri, kar je bilo precej povezano prav z intenzivnostjo trgovskih izmenjav z neposrednimi zalednimi, današnjimi slovenskimi in hrvaškimi kraji. V tem času namreč začne habsburška monarhija svoje tržaško in deloma reško pristanišče vse bolj protežirati z uvajanjem prisilnih poti in z visokimi davki, ki so tradicionalne trgovske povezave zalednega prebivalstva speljali v svoji pristanišči.
Gospodarska vezanost na zaledno slovensko in hrvaško ozemlje pod habsburško monarhijo ter zlasti na Trst in deloma Reko pa je bila prebivalcem severnoistrskih mest in njihovih zaledij kljub navedenim ukrepom očitno velikega, lahko bi rekli kar preživetvenega pomena. To se v tem obdobju kaže nenazadnje tudi v obilici avstrijskega denarja v obtoku v istrsko-beneških krajih, kjer zlasti v drugi polovici 18. stoletja postane poglavitno plačilno sredstvo ne le v neposrednih trgovskih izmenjavah, temveč tudi v vseh poglavitnih državnih, deželnih in mestnih fi-
30 REL, 4, 317-318, August 1784: "...quando fa scala in questa Dominante, ... Ma o gli alettamenti di prezzo, o le comodita del viaggio o i contratti piu leali e piu spediti, fanno che la maggior parte di quest'oglio scali per gli esteri Stati e specialmente per la vicina citta di Trieste, e la licenza e giunta a tal'eccesso che oltre i subdoli stratagemmi messi in esercizio dalla malizia sempre piu acuita dei contrabandi per ab i-tuazione, si contrattano impunita et espiazioni di simili ileciti trasporti con chi per sacro dovere di offizio dovrebbe accudire per reprimerli e per condannarli. Vi e anche di piu, una porzione di quest'oglio penetra nel Friuli Austríaco da dove per le vie sotterranee del contrabando fomentato da qualche sensibile differenza nel prezzo s'insinua nel Veneto o almeno sbocca nei siti e nei luoghi contermini e quasi imedes i-mati, et ecco un publico doppio danno economico che non potrebbesi in pieno misurare, se non con le quantita di un valore di massima importanza".
Darko DAROVEC: VENETIAN AND AUSTRIAN MONEY IN ISTRIA IN THE MODERN AGE, 277-288
nančnih ustanovah v beneški Istri. Pri tem je vsekakor zanimivo, da so bila podobna dogajanja v notranjeavstrijskih deželah v 16. stoletju, ki so bila usmerjena prav obratno - v prizadevanje za omejitev vpliva beneškega denarja, saj se je na Kranjskem razvil drugačen, precej bolj ugoden tečaj za beneški denar, kot je veljal v drugih avstrijskih deželah, tako da ta pojav lahko označimo kot oblikovanje posebnega kranjskega denarja na Avstrijskem, medtem ko je v 18. stoletju šlo za oblikovanje posebne istrske valutne vrednosti avstrijskega denarja znotraj Beneške republike.
Ključne besede: Istra, gospodarstvo, novci, zgodnji novi vek
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