Denier Bracteate - Mieszko III the Old Gniezno or Kalisz mint

Mieszko III ruled twice — driven from Kraków in 1177 by a baronial revolt, he spent decades fighting to reclaim seniority over the Polish duchies, dying in 1202 still holding Greater Poland. These bracteates belong to that fragmented Piast world after the Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth deliberately divided the realm among his sons, ending a unified Polish coinage and replacing it with duchy-specific issues of wildly varying quality.

Bracteates of this type are struck on foil-thin flans, a technique that made double-sided striking impossible and left the designs fragile. Kop#133 sits in a series where mint attribution between Gniezno and Kalisz remains contested — both were active under Mieszko and the die evidence has not resolved the question cleanly.