Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Denier Bracteate - Mieszko III the Old Gniezno or Kalisz mint
| Issuer | Greater Poland, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1138-1202 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Single-sided bracteate struck in thin silver sheet, displaying a stylized frontal figure of a mounted or striding prince rendered in a primitive Romanesque manner. The central effigy is depicted with a schematic human form, arms extended, surrounded by what appear to be abbreviated or decorative letterforms and symbols in the field to the right. The coin is bordered by a beaded circle forming the outer rim, typical of Polish bracteate coinage of the Piast dynasty. The overall design is characteristic of the crude yet expressive die-cutting style associated with the mints of Gniezno or Kalisz under Mieszko III the Old. The fabric is thin and the flan irregular, consistent with hammered bracteate production of the late 12th century. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Gniezno or Kalisz mint |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Mieszko III ruled longer than any other Piast duke — twice, with a 22-year exile wedged between his reigns — and his monetary output reflects that turbulent longevity. Bracteates of this type were thin, single-sided strikes produced by hammering a flan so delicate that most surviving examples are creased, cracked, or partially collapsed. Finding one with a flat, uncollapsed field is genuinely uncommon.
Kopicki 79 situates this piece within the Gniezno or Kalisz attribution, though distinguishing between the two mints on typological grounds alone remains unresolved in the literature.