A very rare type of denarius of Boleslaw the Brave.
The minting of the Brave can be divided into two main groups. The first includes coins with his name on them, while the second includes copycat issues without Polish references, which researchers have separated on the basis of stamp connections with the first group. And an example of a denarius of the latter group we offer you in this auction.
A coin without the name of the ruler, in the Bavarian type. The type was first revealed and described by S. Suchodolski in the pages of Numismatic News of 1967 (notebook 40-41 "Polish Coinage in the X/XI Century"). Its belonging to the minting of Boleslaw the Brave is evident from the combination of stamps, where, via the obverse of the Anglo-Saxon type with Ethelred's name, the presented coin is combined with the obverse of the type BOLIZLAVS DVX INCLITVS. The coin is modeled after the Bavarian denarii of Duke Henry IV from 995-1002 or King Henry II from his first reign from 1002-1009. The legends in the rim are completely mistaken, only partially reflecting the Bavarian originals. The coin was probably produced around 1010-1020 at the mint in Poznan.
We have had this type only 1 time in the company's history to date, where a beautiful, specimen piece at the 10th auction sold for 64,400 PLN (item179).
Silver, diameter 19 mm, weight 1.2 g.
Subject literature
- S. Suchodolski, Polish coinage in the tenth/eleventh century, Numismatic News XI/2-3, 1967.
- S. Suchodolski, The beginnings of Polish Coinage in the light of recent research, Numismatic News LIX/1-2 [Polish Numismatic News IX], 2015, pp. 67-94
- M. Bogucki, J. Magiera, New coins of Bolesław Chrobry (the Brave), Numismatic News LIX/1-2 [Polish Numismatic News IX], 2015, pp. 115-128.