Old Sails: More Ship Pennies

Lovers of old sails usually have a small flotilla of ship pennies from Nuremberg in their collections. These pieces are charming with a distinctive medieval look, so I find it hard to resist stopping at just one. These are old pieces dating in the late-1500s. Also alluring, there are many different varieties.
   Last April we saw the typical cog ship found on these jettons (known as type1). This time, we explore a more unusual design with a bit more flourish that is scarce to rare (known as type2).
   Ship pennies were popular in their heyday, particularly in France wherein a cog ship was part of official Arms for seafaring towns and cities (Paris and Nantes, for example). In fact, cog ships found their way into the Arms for many ports that were part of the Hanseatic League in northern Europe. No wonder there was a market for these pieces in the late sixteenth century. Keep in mind that jettons were still widely used as counters.
   The type2 cogs have a distinctive sail that billows out to the left. We see the port side (bow to left), as the vessel is on a port tact. This is a more realistic design than found on type1 jettons. Both Hans Krauwinckel I and Hans Schultes produced type2 ship pennies. I don't know if Hans Krauwinckel II produced them or not, as I have not seen one and Mitchiner does not illustrate one. By the way, the spelling of the name differentiates between the two nephews: Hans I spelled his name with one "n" whereas Hans II used two "n"s (Hans and Hanns Krauwinckel).
   Pictured, we have a very nice piece from Hans Krauwinckel who worked until about 1580 (at left). The darker one is from Hans Schultes who worked until about 1612 (at right). As you can see the cog ships are similar at first glance, but the closer you look, the more they differ. Both jettons are made of a brass alloy and struck on razor-thin planchets. Both pieces share a similar reverse of four fluers-de-lis in a lozenge.
   Hans Krauwinckel's piece depicts a deep, bulbous hull, clinker-built with high gunwales, much like the hulks of the era (so maybe it is not a cog after all). Hulks were trading ships designed for freight at the expense of maneuverability. The forecastle is small and open, whereas the gabled-roofed stern castle  appears more elaborate. The sail is large with pennant atop the mast (blowing in the opposite direction). Two stars -- perhaps for navigation -- are seen fore and aft. The legend reads: SCHIF+PFENING+NVRENBERG (translation: Ship Penny Nuremberg). Of note, Hans put his name on the reverse.
   Hans Schultes' piece shows a thin hull with less depth and little difference between the fore- and stern castles, both open (or just styled as such). As before, the planking is bold (clinker?) with high gunwales. The sail is slender, narrowed at bottom, and tilting aft. The pennant crosses the inner border into the space above (also blowing back). The stars are replaced with floral ornaments. Overall, the design is simpler and crudely done. The legend reads: HANS+SCHVLTS+NORNBERG (translation: Hans Schultes of Nuremberg). What you cannot see is that Schultes' jetton is thinner than the earlier one -- a cheaply made piece.
   Typically, these pieces were sold in tubes of 25 or 50 for "counting" purposes. The Orb and Cross designs were the most common of all Nuremberg jettons, with the type1 ship pennies coming in a distant second. The type2 pieces pictured above tend to be scarce. Of the hundred plus jettons found at Jamestown in Virginia, none of them were ship pennies -- too bad, we could have combined collections. In any case, be on the lookout for these billowing sails.