Redeeming Old Silver Coins for the Purpose of Minting New 50-Dinar Coins Summary

Rezime: Zakon o kovanju srebrnog novca, donet 14.8.1932. godine, precizno je određivao količinu, tehničke parametre i izgled buduće kovanice od 50 dinara. Kako bi se obezbedilo 190 tona potrebnog srebra za kovanje ovog novca, ministar finansija i Ministarstvo finansija bili su prinuđeni da u kratkom periodu izdaju tri rešenja koja su se odnosila na cenu i listu srpskih i stranih predratnih kovanica od srebra predviđenih za otkup. U Kraljevskoj kovnici u Londonu, iskovano je 5,5 miliona komada ovog srebrnjaka, a isto toliko je iskovano i u Kovnici AD u Beogradu. Graver aversa je Ričard Plaht (Richard Placht), a reversa Jozef Princ (Josef Prinz). Težina kovanice je 23g, sa prečnikom od 36mm. Na aversu je profil kralja Jugoslavije, Aleksandra I, kao i godina 1932. Na reversu je grb Kraljevine Jugoslavije i njegova nominalna vrednost. Po obodu je utisnut natpis: „Bog čuva Jugoslaviju“. Kovanica je puštena u opticaj 23.1.1933. godine, a povlačena u periodu od 16.8.1939. do 16.2.1940. godine.

godine; -Ričard Plaht (Richard Placht), graver aversa kovanice od 50 dinara iz 1932. godine. The preparations for the minting of silver coins bearing the year 1932 were outlined in advance by the Law on Minting Silver Money. This Law, adopted on 14 August 1932, in Bled, precisely defined the quantity, technical parameters and the appearance of the 50'dinar coin. Nonetheless, the Ministry and the Minister of Finance had to pass three decisions during the coins' production process, in order to successfully secure the 190 tonnes of silver necessary for the minting of the coins.
The Aforementioned Law authorised the Minister of Finance to: define the remaining contents of the alloy (aside from the already defined share of silver set to 750/1000), conclude an agreement on the minting, and to procure the silver from citizens in the country and abroad. Mr Milorad Đorđević, Minister of Finance, passed a decision published on 31 August 1932, ordering the National Bank to begin redeeming Serbian pre-war 1-dinar coins, at a price of 2.50 dinars per coin. A new decision of the Ministry of Finance from 2 September 1932 enabled the National Bank to redeem other pre-war silver coins, both Serbian and foreign. For Serbian pre-war silver coins, the following amounts were offered, per piece: for a 5-dinar coin -13.40 dinars; for a 2-dinar coin -5 dinars; for a 1-dinar coin -2.50 dinars and for a 50-para coin -1.25 dinars. The redemption list also featured the following foreign pre-war silver coins, at the same prices: French franc, Italian lira, Romanian leu, Bulgarian lev, Greek drachma, Austro-Hungarian crown, Austrian forint, Maria Theresa's thaler, Montenegrin perper, German mark and Russian rouble minted before or after 1886. Due to insufficient response, the Minister of Finance adopted a third decision, as well, increasing the redemption value of these coins by 20%, while also expanding the list with Turkish pre-war silver coins -medžidija and groschen. Increasing the redemption value of silver coins enabled the planned procurement of silver.
Only then did the Minister of Finance pass the fourth decision, published on 17 June 1933, ordering the National Bank to cease the redemption of silver coins.
Many local and foreign coin catalogue authors believe that the Royal Mint in London produced 5.5 million pieces of 50-dinar silver coins with no minting mark, while the same number of these coins was minted in Belgrade, bearing the inscription Kovnica AD below the profile of king Aleksandar Karađorđević. All 11 million silver coins were received by the National Bank on 5 August 1933. The expenses originating from the redemption of silver, the making of silver and copper alloy plates, models and minting tools, packaging, repackaging, transportation and insurance burdened the state budget. Hence, total revenue, i.e. the nominal value of the minted coins, was payed to the budget.
As was already pointed out, the Law from 1932 defined the number of 50-dinar silver coins, and their technical parameters and appearance. A coin's weight is 23g, with a ±2% tolerance and a diameter of 36mm. The structure of the alloy is 17/1000 silver and 250/1000 copper.  There are two types of coins, differing in the way this inscription is read. Namely, on the first type the inscription can be read from the obverse side, while the inscription on the other type can be read from the reverse side.

The Engravers
Banknotes and coins, beside their basic function, also signify an important part of the contemporary history, culture and art of the countries where they were created. The production of money is a time-consuming process which begins with a sketch of an engraver or painter, which then needs to be approved as a solution by the competent state institutions. Then, during the production process, all other requirements need to be fulfilled regarding the structure and message of the banknote or coin, as well as the integration of the art piece with all security and protection elements. This largely pertains to the production of banknotes, but the minting process is treated in the same manner.
When it comes to the banknotes produced in the Kingdom of SCS and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, we often come across the abbreviations FEC -made by and SC -cut by, where the names of the people who made the art are also given. These were famous artists and engravers who worked or cooperated with the institutions that produced domestic or foreign banknotes.
Certain coins feature the names of their engravers. For example, the 50-para coins, 1-and 2-dinar coins and the 20-dinar gold coin from 1925 bear the name A. Patey on the obverse. Other coins made from the founding of the Kingdom of SCS until 1932 (during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) do not feature the names of their engravers, but they are still known, based on reliable sources. These engravers were, also, respected artists in the countries where they worked: -Josef Prinz, engraver of the obverse of the 5-, 10-and 25-para coins from 1920, and the reverse of the 50-dinar coin from 1932; -Adolf Hoffman, engraver of the reverse of the 5-, 10-and 25-para coins from 1920; -Auguste Patey, engraver of the 50-para, 1-and 2-dinar coins and the 20-dinar gold coin from 1925; -Percy Matcalfe, engraver of the 10-and 20-dinar coins from 1931; -Richard Placht, engraver of the obverse of the 50-dinar coin from 1932.