Denier Bracteate - Ladislaus I the Elbow-high unknown mint

Ladislaus I — called "Łokietek," the Elbow-high, for his reportedly diminutive stature — spent much of his reign fighting to reunify the fragmented Piast territories after decades of dynastic partition. These bracteates were struck during a period when he controlled Sandomierz but had not yet secured the Polish crown, which he would not receive until his Kraków coronation in 1320. Bracteate production in this region reflects the persistent influence of thin, single-sided coinage traditions that had dominated Polish minting since the twelfth century.

Kop. 241 is among the lighter documented examples of his regional issues, consistent with the progressive debasement that accompanied his costly military campaigns against the Teutonic Knights and Bohemian claimants.