Here is one of the icons of the Polish Middle Ages.
The first and for about 150 years the only Polish penny. A coin important both typologically and historically. Here in beautiful condition.Very nicely minted and exquisitely preserved. With a surface of mint freshness. With uncirculated relief and images well highlighted by a light patina in the corners.
At the time of Casimir III the Great, Poland entered a new monetary era. The era of light coinage - brakteates minted in thin tin, as well as small denarii - comes to an end. The period of minting coarse coinage, the penny(grossus, Latin for thick), begins.
Casimir III the Great not only changed the appearance of Poland, leaving it walled, but also changed our minting. He introduced a reform dictated by the influx of large foreign coinage, the most influential of which were the Prague pennies circulating throughout Central Europe. Broad pennies minted in Kutná Hora since the time of Wenceslas II.
They were the model for the iconography of the first Polish pennies. On the obverse, in a double encirclement around the crown, the titula of the Polish ruler was placed: +KAZIMIRVS ↓PRIMVS | +DEI ↓GRACIA REX POLONIE(Casimir the First by God's Grace King of Poland). On the reverse, replacing the Czech lion with a Polish eagle, the name of the new coin was placed in the rim: GROSSI CRACOVIENSES (Cracow penny).
Rarity.
The Polish broad penny is a coin of which few pieces have survived to this day, as is evident from the subsequent fate of this issue. Due to the fact that Poland did not have its own silver mines, bullion for the penny could be obtained in two ways: melting down Czech pennies or buying them at high prices in Hungary. As T. Kalkowski writes:"both were unprofitable, however, so they were soon discontinued. The Cracow pennies, withdrawn after ten years of circulation, were punched into half-pennies, the main Kazimierz coinage from then on. Their salvaged remnants, very rare in finds, are among the rarest Polish numismatic coins.".
The present piece is additionally a very rare variety with a misspelling of the ruler's name - KAZIRVS instead of KAZIMIRVS. The only listing of a penny with this error that we have come to is in the 18th PDA auction (item 123 sold for 96,760 zlotys, different reverse).
This is only the second time (!) that a Casimir III Cracow penny appears in our history. The first piece, offered at the 10th auction (condition ~3, with perforation / hole, no error in the king's name) reached a price of 46,000 zlotys at that time. This one is clearly more beautiful than it.
Definitely recommended.
Silver, diameter 27 mm, weight 2.84 g.
