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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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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Kop#85 |
| Obverse description | Central field depicts a stylized frontal figure, likely a princely or ecclesiastical personage, rendered in the primitive Romanesque manner characteristic of 12th-century Polish bracteate coinage. The figure appears standing or enthroned, with schematic facial features and simplified drapery indicated by incised lines. Flanking elements to the left suggest an eagle or bird motif, while partial inscription fragments are visible to the right of the figure. The whole design is enclosed within a beaded border of irregular granular dots typical of hammered bracteate production. The overall execution is archaic and linear, consistent with the Gniezno or Kalisz mint workshop of the reign of Mieszko III the Old. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Mint | Gniezno or Kalisz mint |
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| Additional information |
Mieszko III ruled intermittently — twice expelled from Kraków, reinstated, expelled again — and his long reign over Greater Poland was defined as much by dynastic warfare as by administration. These thin, single-sided bracteates were not a Polish innovation but a technique spreading east from the German-speaking lands, and Mieszko's adoption of the form reflects the broader Piast engagement with western European minting practice during the fragmentation period following Bolesław III's 1138 testament.
The Gniezno and Kalisz attribution remains unresolved in the literature. Kop#85 groups them by type rather than confirmed provenance.