Analysis of medieval Serbian silver coins from XIV and XV century by means of wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometry

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry is known as excellent nondestructive technique for analysis of artifacts, in our case, medieval numismatic coins. Collections of 30 silver coins, owned by National Museum in Belgrade, were investigated during our research. Coins from the historical period from 1389 to 1458 belong to the reign of two Serbian rulers, Stefan Lazarević and Đurđe Branković. The aim of this study was to determine elemental composition of silver coins and to characterize alloys from which the coins were minted. The dominant elements detected in all coins were Ag, Cu, Zn and Pb. In some coins Fe, Si and S were detected as well. Results from quantitative analysis shows that the content of Ag in all investigated silver coins exceed 90%, except in two coins that were assumed to be forged. The concentration of Cu ranged from 3% to 5%, and the contents of Zn and Pb varied around 1%. Characterization of coins provided us information about raw materials and employed metallurgical processes.