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Denier Bracteate - Mieszko III the Old Gniezno or Kalisz mint
| Issuer | Greater Poland, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1138-1202 |
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| Value | 1 Denier |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Struck as a bracteate on a thin silver flan, the obverse displays a frontal enthroned figure, identified as Duke Mieszko III the Old, rendered in a schematic Romanesque style characteristic of late 12th-century Polish coinage. The figure grasps a long upright sword or sceptre rising vertically above the head, flanked by stylised ornamental elements and pellets arranged in clusters. The surrounding field is bounded by a beaded border of large pellets following the irregular circumference of the flan. The overall composition is bold and high-relief, typical of the bracteate technique in which the design is struck from a single die through the thin planchet. |
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| Mintage | ND (1138-1202) |
| Additional information |
Mieszko III ruled Greater Poland twice — expelled by his own nobles in 1177, he spent decades in political exile before reclaiming Kraków in 1199. These thin, single-sided bracteates were the dominant small-change coinage of fragmented Piast Poland during the period of provincial division that followed Bolesław III's 1138 testament, which deliberately carved the kingdom into hereditary duchies to prevent primogeniture disputes and instead generated two centuries of dynastic conflict.
The extreme fragility of bracteate fabric at this weight makes undamaged survivors genuinely uncommon. Kop#91 is attributed to either Gniezno or Kalisz — the mint distinction remains unresolved in the literature.