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Denier - Boleslaus II the Pious
| Issuer | Kingdom of Bohemia |
|---|---|
| Year | 967-999 |
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| Value | 1 Denier |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a stylized architectural motif rendered in the Ottonian tradition, featuring a gabled structure or chapel facade composed of triangular and horizontal bar elements arranged in tiers, suggestive of a church or palatial building. The design is executed in bold, deeply struck relief characteristic of early Bohemian hammered coinage. Flanking foliate or cross-hatched decorative elements appear in the field to either side of the central device. The surrounding legend reads +BOLESLAVS in Latin characters, referencing the issuing duke Boleslaus II. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field bearing a long cross with splayed or forked terminals, set within a beaded inner circle that divides the field from the outer legend. The cross is a prominent devotional symbol consistent with Ottonian-influenced Bohemian deniers of the late tenth century. The surrounding marginal legend reads +PRAGA CIVITAS, identifying Prague as the city of issue. The lettering is in Latin majuscules, somewhat irregularly spaced owing to the hand-struck nature of the flan. The overall composition reflects the strong ecclesiastical and civic identity of the Prague mint under Boleslaus II. |
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| Additional information |
Boleslaus II secured a bishopric for Prague in 973, separating Bohemia ecclesiastically from the Diocese of Regensburg — a political act that coincided with the earliest phase of Bohemian coinage and almost certainly influenced the iconographic program of these deniers. His father Boleslaus I had murdered Wenceslas I to take the throne in 935, and the dynasty spent the following decades aggressively legitimizing itself through both church patronage and the adoption of Western minting practices borrowed from Ottonian Germany.
Cach 50 is among the earlier attributed types in the series, with die workmanship varying considerably across the long reign.