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 | Standard circulation coin |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Facing bust of the prince, rendered in a schematic Romanesque style characteristic of 12th-century Polish bracteate coinage, depicted with a crown or diadem above the head. Flanking elements, possibly stylised architectural or heraldic motifs, occupy the lateral fields. Fragmentary Latin legend surrounds the central effigy, partially legible due to the irregular flan and die wear. The overall composition is struck on a thin, broad silver flan with characteristic bracteate relief. The flan exhibits edge splits and minor cracks consistent with the hammered bracteate technique. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Mieszko III ruled Greater Poland twice — expelled by his own nobility in 1177, he spent decades in intermittent exile before reclaiming his position, dying in power in 1202. His bracteates reflect this turbulent administration: multiple mints operating across his territories, attribution between Gniezno and Kalisz remaining genuinely contested among Polish numismatists to this day. At 0.12 grams, these were among the lightest coins in circulation anywhere in medieval Europe, their single-sided fabric a practical concession to silver so thin that striking both faces was technically impossible.