Catalog
Denier - Boleslaus I the Brave unknown mint
| Issuer | Kingdom of Poland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1000-1025 |
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| Reference(s) | Kop#21, Kop#21x, Kop#22 |
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| Reverse description | Central field displays a plain cross pattee with expanded terminals set within a beaded or linear inner circle, a common device on early medieval European deniers. The cross is boldly struck and occupies the majority of the inner circle. The surrounding peripheral legend reads BOLESLAVS REX in Latin, with letterforms showing retrograde or irregular arrangement consistent with early eleventh-century Polish hammered coinage. The flan is irregular in shape, as is characteristic of hand-struck issues of this period. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Boleslaus I received his royal title at the Congress of Gniezno in 1000 AD, where Emperor Otto III made the unprecedented gesture of placing his own diadem on Bolesław's head — a political act that reverberated across the Polish church and court for decades. Whether these deniers were struck before or after his formal coronation in 1025 remains unresolved; he ruled as duke for most of the period, taking the crown only months before his death.
The Kop#21, #21x, and #22 varieties reflect genuine die distinctions documented by Kopicki, not mere condition splits. Attribution between them often hinges on minute legend fragmenting caused by the crude hand-cut dies typical of early Piast minting.