Early medieval coinage in the territory of Slovenia

Silver coins minted in the territory of present Slovenia and neighboring countries Italy and Austria between the 12th and 14th century were analyzed by PIXE. Gold and bismuth were found as predominant impurities, which allowed distribution of coins into two groups. Coins with the predominant Bi impurity were minted from silver that was very likely mined in Carinthia and diffusion of this type of silver towards the mints in eastern Slovenia was observed. This finding confirms the historical hypothesis that silver currency in this period was largely produced for the trade with the east.