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Denier - Anonymous Boleslaus I, bishop
| Issuer | Duchy of Silesia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1173-1190 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Denar (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Full-length frontal figure of a bishop rendered in low relief, depicted standing in liturgical vestments with a mitre upon his head. In his left hand he holds a book (the Gospels) pressed to his body, while his right hand extends a long pastoral staff or cross. The design is executed in the crude but expressive Romanesque die-cutting style typical of 12th-century Silesian bracteate-influenced denars, with the figure occupying the entire field. A partial Latin inscription appears in the field referencing Wroclaw (Breslau). |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Boleslaus I of Silesia ruled a duchy carved from the fragmentation of Poland following the 1138 Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty, which deliberately divided the Piast realm among his sons to prevent primogeniture conflict — and in doing so guaranteed two centuries of internecine struggle instead. These anonymous deniers, issued without the duke's name, reflect the ecclesiastical minting conventions common to Silesian issues of this period, where episcopal authority and ducal power overlapped uneasily in controlling coin production.
At 0.3g, surviving examples are frequently found clipped or bent — a known characteristic of Silesian bracteate-adjacent issues circulating in this region during the late twelfth century.