Caption

Denarius of Boleslaw III Krzywousty (prince of Poland; ca. 1086–1138), ca. 1125–1138. Obverse: in a beaded border, a knight in chain mail thrusting a spearhead into the jaws of an upside-down dragon. Reverse: in a triple beaded border, an isosceles cross topped with spheres (two bearing a dot each); between its arms, single suns (three with a dot each; the fourth possibly dotted but obscured by under-striking). Iconography includes knight, chain mail, spearhead/spears, dragons, mouths, crosses, equal-armed cross, sun motifs; themes of fight against pagans and fight between good and evil; Romanesque style; references to martyrs and St. Adalbert. Coin; Poland, Kraków. Diameter 13.1–13.8 mm; weight 0.63 g.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A63_090

License type

Rights managed

Available size

27.0Mb (1.1Mb) / 10.2in x 10.2in / 3071 x 3071 (300dpi)

Keywords

Denarius Boleslaw III Krzywousty prince Poland ca 1086–1138 1125–1138 Obverse beaded border knight chain mail thrusting spearhead jaws upside-down dragon Reverse triple beaded border isosceles cross topped spheres two bearing dot arms single suns three fourth dotted obscured under-striking Iconography includes chain mail spears dragons mouths crosses equal-armed cross sun motifs themes fight pagans good evil Romanesque style references martyrs St Adalbert Coin Kraków Diameter 13.1–13.8 mm weight 0.63 g small round metallic object worn raised design sits white background object silver-gray darker gray faint brownish areas showing central cross- relief surrounded circular ridges irregular textured patterns uneven edges surface indentations.