Really not the „Early Lithuanian coinage was based on the Polish Złoty being worth 30 Groszy, with 1 Grosz = 18 Denar.“
The Lithuanian and Polish monetary systems were absolutely different till 1580.
Matherial from one catalogue of Lithuanian coins
http://www.pinigumuziejus.lt/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/katalogas.pdf :
Among the most ancient goods exchanged for trade in the Baltic lands were amber, furs, wax, and charcoal. Trade in amber flourished in the second half of the 3rd c. after the people of the Baltic coastal area expanded their trade relations with the Roman Empire. From the Empire, Roman coins began to arrive into Lithuania via the so-called Amber Road. Most of these coins have been discovered in western Lithuania, where people would put coins in the graves of the deceased. With the exchange of goods, the first Arab dirhams also reached the territory of Lithuania at the end of the 8th–beginning of the 9th c. Twelve find-sites of Arab coins are known in Lithuania. The largest hoard of the dirhams of the Samanid dynasty (more than 78 pcs.) was discovered in Veleikiai (Zarasai d.) in 1967 (Duksa 1981: 93–96). Once in Lithuania, Arab coins were not only used for settlement, but were also suitable as silver raw material for making jewellery. As silver extraction in the Arab lands drained away, from the 11th c. dirhams were no longer brought in. Very few 10th–13th c. western European coins came over to Lithuania as well. The currency system in Lithuania formed very slowly. The most ancient means of payment in the 10th–13th c. were wrought archaic (spiral bracelet-shaped, ring quadrangular cross-section and banded quadrangular cross-section) bars, brought from Scandinavia. Their shape was not settled and they were different in weight. These bars were replaced with local, more convenient for settlement, semi-circular stick-shaped bars of a steady weight, also referred to as the Lithuanian longs. The average weight of these bars (about 106 g) may have constituted half of the Scandinavian mark (204 g) or the Gotland-Riga mark (207.82 g). Lithuanian bars were appreciated by foreign merchants as well. The need to standardise the weight of silver bars apparently arose with an increase in trade operations. The coming of these bars to Lithuania has been increasingly associated with the emergence of landed property and the beginning of the establishment of the state in the 13th c. Wars between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with German Orders prompted the building of fortified castles; the beginnings of future cities appeared. Highly qualified craftsmen, who had mastered the casting technology, began settling there. One of the oldest centres for casting of Lithuanian bars may have been Lithuania’s capital Kernavė, which was the rulers’ residence until 1321. A hoard of 4 Lithuanian longs has been discovered there (Luchtanas 2000: 67–71). Another centre was undoubtedly Vilnius. Silver was an expensive metal and was concentrated in the hands of the rich; they placed orders for casters. The Lithuanian currency bars were cast from coins of other states, decorations and various items. The stick-shaped electrum bar and the finger-shaped gold bar discovered in the Drageliškės hoard (Zarasai d.)apparently came to Lithuania via the Dnieper–Daugava trade route (Duksa 1981: 106). Bars of standard shapes and weight were more convenient than coins for paying out large amounts, using them as raw material by jewellers. Bars were not used in everyday circulation since they were inconvenient for normal purchase and sale transactions (Рузас 2006: 56). In the 1330s the Lithuanian longs, which had been in circulation for a long time, began to be replaced with the heavier Lithuanian three-sided bars, referred to as the Lithuanian rubles, which weighed 170.9–189.5 g. Their appearance is related to the ruler’s, most likely Jogaila’s, decision to release a new issue of bars. As noted by Stanislovas Sajauskas, the threesided (large-sized trilateral kapas) have no notches, which suggests a higher level of production control by the state, securing against money counterfeiting by deteriorating the quality of metal (Dulkys, Sajauskas, Galkus 2006: 50). As the raw material for the three-sided bars, semi-circular bars and the scrap of silver decorations were used. Lithuanian rubles bore similarity to the Novgorod ones, which had appeared earlier and weighed 190–200 g. In the Drageliškės and Stakliškės (Prienai d.) hoards, 8 intact Novgorod rubles and half a bar — a poltina — were found (Duksa 1981: 123). Alongside Novgorod bars, Kievan grivinas, which had spread in Ukraine, and the currency bars of the Golden Horde, which had spread in the southern lands of the GDL, are being discovered. Kievan grivinas from the Ribiškės (near Vilnius) and Drageliškės hoards (18 bars of this type and 1 Kievan grivina respectively) are known in Lithuania. 4 Kievan grivinas (3 of which have notches) are stored at the Money Museum of the Bank of Lithuania. These bars were used in Lithuania at the same time as the Lithuanian longs. Silver bars were not the only metal currency in Lithuania. In 1300, King Václav II of Bohemia (1283–1305) started minting large silver coins about 3.7 g in weight, the so-called Prague groats, in the Kutná Hora Mint. These coins spread fast in Europe and became an international currency. At the end of the 14th–beginning of the 15th c. Prague groats established themselves in currency circulation in the GDL as well. They mainly prevailed under Vytautas. Together with silver bars and early Lithuanian coins, they formed the basis of the then GDL currency system. Prague groats were counted in kapas: one kapa was made up of 60 Prague groats. Most of them (6,244 pcs.) were found in the Litva village hoard (Minsk oblast, Belarus) (Рябцевич 2009: 182). The Prague groats of Václav IV (1378–1419) mostly prevailed: 992 such coins were found in the Vilnius Gvazdikai Street hoard, some 400 — Šiauliai village (Širvintos d.) hoard (Smilgevičius 2001: 74). The Prague groats of Charles I (1346–1378) are rarer. According to the data of the Belorussian numismatist Valentin Riabcevich (1934–2008), 14,566 Prague groats have been discovered in Ukraine, which had been within the GDL, 11,233 in Belarus, and 1,792 in Lithuania (Рябцевич 2009: 189). A significant source to learn about the circulation of Prague groats in Lithuania is Vytautas’ letters, published by Antoni Prochaska (1852–1930) in the collection of historical documents Codex epistolaris Vitoldi Magni Ducis Lithuaniae 1376–1430, which was issued in 1882 in Kraków (Smilgevičius 2005: 107–112). At the end of the 14th c., with the expansion of trade, inconvenient silver bars and large Prague groat coins became insufficient for payments. The beginning of the minting of the first Lithuanian coins is related to important political events at the end of the 14th c. The opinions of Lithuanian numismatists on the minting of the first coins diverge. In the opinion of some (Vytautas Aleksiejūnas, Mykolas Michelbertas, Stanislovas Sajauskas), the coins may have been minted until 1387, i.e. until the adoption of Christianity, and most likely by Grand Duke Algirdas of Lithuania (1345–1377) at the end of his rule or by his son Jogaila (1377–1392). They are convinced that the first to be minted were the heaviest coins of the PEČAT type (spearhead with a cross). In the opinion of others (Eugenijus Ivanauskas, Robertas Douchis (1941–2005), Eduardas Remecas), the first coins appeared after the coronation of Jogaila in 1386. The first to put forward a proposition that, in Lithuania, the minting of the oldest coins was only commenced after the adoption of Christianity, was the Polish numismatist Ryszard Kiersnowski (1925–2006) in 1984. The coins presented in this catalogue are classified based on the assumption that it was Jogaila who began minting the first coins. Having crowned Jogaila as King of Poland in 1386, a personal union between Lithuania and Poland was concluded. Jogaila began issuing denarius-type coins in Vilnius; an own currency system ultimately formed. Later, coins were minted by Grand Dukes Vytautas (1392–1430) and Casimir (1440–1492). Their coinage was systemic and intensive. Changing of the design of coins every two or three years suggested the search for the Lithuanian form and heraldry. The first Lithuanian coins were marked with the coats of arms of grand dukes of Lithuania or their figures — the Knight, Columns of the Gediminas Family, Double Cross. Dynastic coats of arms later became state ones. The Knight most likely is Lithuania’s sovereign Jogaila. In the opinion of the historian Edmundas Rimša, the Knight at first became the coat of arms of Vilnius, later — of the entire GDL (Rimša 2004a: 39–40). The term Vytis originated much later. The first to refer to Lithuania’s coat of arms as Pogonia was the Polish chronicler Marcin Bielski (1495–1575). The first to use, in the mid-19th c., the Lithuanian term Vytis to describe the rider (Knight) was the historian Simonas Daukantas (1793–1864) (Rimša 2004: 61–63). The main source in investigating Lithuanian heraldry is sphragistics — a historical discipline, which studies seals and signet rings. When, in 1386, Jogaila became King of Poland, an arms seal was produced for him. It featured a rider holding a spear and a shield with a double cross. The double cross comes from Hungary; in our heraldry it appeared after Jogaila married the daughter of Louis I, heiress to the Polish throne, Jadwiga (Hedwig) (1372–1399). It is also often relied on the large arms seal of Vytautas of the 12 October 1398 Treaty of Salynas with the German Order. It has depicted on it the coats of arms of Volhynia (Cross), Vilnius (Knight), Trakai (Infantryman), and Smolensk (Lion) (Rimša 2004a: 11–12). Another important source is Vytautas’ seal which he used in 1397–1411. In it, for the first time in sphragistics, the Knight’s shield featured the Columns of the Gediminas Family (Rimša 2004: 60). The oldest coins were minted from pieces of silver wire. The regional duchies of the GDL: Kiev, Bryansk, Severny-Naugard, Starodub and Smolensk minted own coins as well. The weight standard of Lithuanian coins, which varied between 0.6 and 0.8 g and tended to decrease, formed independently of the weight standards of other states and was adjusted to the Lithuanian market (Paszkiewicz 2007: 44–45). The weight of the first GDL coins varied greatly — from less than 0.5 g to more than 1 g. As was noted by E. Remecas, this great difference in coin weight was determined by the method used for the minting of coins — the so-called al Marco, when a certain amount of one denomination coins is minted from a certain amount of silver. Historical sources refer to the first Lithuanian coins as pinigėliai (пенязи) (Remecas 2003: 52). They have become an important feature of Lithuania’s independence. On 30 July 1492, the son of Casimir Jagiellon, Alexander Jagiellon, was elected Grand Duke of Lithuania. Polish people, seeking a union with Lithuania, also elected him King of Poland in 1501. Already in the first years of the reign of Alexander Jagiellon the Duchy of Moscow launched an attack on the GDL. In 1503, huge territories of the GDL — the southern part of Smolensk and the lands of Severny-Naugard were lost. The war required massive military expenditure. Payments in Prague groats hindered appearing of local groats, without which the own currency system could not strengthen. Seeking to supply the state with money, in 1595 Alexander pushed through a currency reform. Preparations had been made prior to that: a ban was put on exporting silver from Lithuania and a goldsmiths’ workshop was established in the same year in Vilnius. The aim of the currency reform was withdrawal of the denarii and Prague groats of Casimir Jagiellon from circulation. The monetary system was simple: it was projected to mint two currency units — the denarius and the half-groat. The countable unit was the groat, which was made up of 10 denarii. This decimal system was the only one in Europe at that time (Ivanauskas, Douchis 2002: 18). The increasing political influence of Poland is suggested by the emergence of Poland’s Eagle on the coins. Lithuanian half-groats penetrated the Polish market since their value was 20 per cent higher than of the Polish ones. This aroused dissatisfaction among the Polish nobility. At the Piotrków Congress in 1501, Polish representatives for the first time demanded to equal Lithuanian and Polish coins in weight and value, as Lithuanian coins were by a fifth more valuable than Polish. The Act of Mielnik, signed in that same year, provided for common money, but the Lithuanian Seimas did not approve this Act. After pushing through a currency reform, Lithuanian currency established itself in the local market, ousting from circulation silver bars, the first GDL coins and Prague groats. The creation of a European currency system was an important factor that opened the way for Lithuania’s further integration into Europe (Ivanauskas, Douchis 2002: 19). When Alexander died in 1506, his younger brother Sigismund was elected Grand Duke of Lithuania. He was nicknamed Sigismund the Old (1506–1544). Sigismund the Old approved the First State of Lithuania, which declared that the GDL was a state separate from Poland. Half-groats (later — groats as well) minted during the period of the reign of Sigismund the Old became the basis for the establishment of the currency system of the GDL (Huleckij 2006: 152). In 1544 Sigismund the Old entrusted governance of the GDL to his son Sigismund Augustus (1544–1572). During the latter’s rule, reforms of courts and administration, land (wallach) reforms were pushed through, the cultural level in the region increased, an active monetary policy was conducted, the Union of Lublin was implemented. In the first, relatively peaceful, period of the GDL (1545–1561), an important role in the formation of monetary policy, besides the sovereign, was played by the Nobility Council with one of its most famous members — Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Black (1545–1561), defender of the GDL’s political sovereignty, Chancellor of Lithuania and Voivode of Vilnius. The period of 1562–1571 marked a new stage in the GDL’s monetary policy. The Livonian War, which required massive financial expenses from the GDL, boosted the sovereign’s and the state’s debts, forced the state to issue more coin denominations, increase their amounts and the weight standard. Due to intensified trade with Poland and deployment of its military units in Lithuania, more coins of the Polish weight standard began to be minted in Lithuania, abandoning coins of traditional Lithuanian denominations. As low-value Swidnica groats flooded the internal market, they were bought up in 1546–1548 and part of them were re-minted into Lithuanian coins. Before the Union of Lublin, to the example of developed central European countries, a currency system was created for the first time in the history of Lithuanian money: alongside silver coins of different denominations, gold coins began to be minted as well. In 1558 a war broke out between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its neighbours — the GDL, Kingdom of Poland and Kingdom of Sweden — for control over the former territory of the Livonian Order. The GDL also aimed at a currency union with Livonia. The agreement, signed between Sigismund Augustus and Livonia’s last Master Gothard Kettler on 28 November 1561, and the privilege provided that the Livonian nobility were to mint coins to the weight and value of Lithuanian coins. One side of the coins featured the attributes of Lithuania and of its sovereign, the other one — of Livonia. Already in 1564, at the Sejm in Warsaw, Sigismund Augustus made a commitment to implement the decision of Poland’s Sejm on the minting of Polish and Lithuanian coins to the same design, of uniform weight, quality and with uniform inscriptions (Ivanauskas, Douchis 2002: 98). At the Sejm of the Union of Lublin Lithuania’s delegation appeared under pressure — it was required to withdraw prevalent Lithuanian coins from circulation in Poland. At the same time the Bracław, Kiev, Podlasie and Volhynia Voivodeships were torn from the GDL and joined to Poland; the GDL’s military and financial capacity was weakened. Having signed the Union of Lublin, Lithuania and Poland merged into one political unit — The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During difficult negotiations, Lithuania managed to defend the name of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its territory (albeit contracted), borders, public life institutions — the Treasury, Army, Chancellor’s Office, its law — the Statute of Lithuania and courts (Jučas 2013: 198–200). While the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth projected a common currency, this was not done until 1580 though.
