Caption

Denarius of Boleslaw III Krzywousty (prince of Poland; c. 1107–1138). Obverse: in a beaded border, a knight in chain mail thrusting a spearhead (issue mark) into the jaws of an upside-down dragon. Reverse: in a triple beaded border, an isosceles equal-armed cross topped with spheres; between its arms, two radiating smaller spheres in two quarters and one larger sphere in the other two quarters; one arm intersects the other at approximately one-third of its length. Romanesque style; allegorical imagery referencing martyrs (St. Adalbert, ca. 956–997), knights, dragons, and the medieval theme of the fight between good and evil. Dated c. 1125–1138, Kraków, Poland. Coin; diameter 11.5–12.2 mm; weight 0.42 g.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A63_402

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 c 1107–1138 Obverse beaded border knight chain mail thrusting spearhead issue mark jaws upside-down dragon Reverse triple beaded border isosceles equal-armed cross topped spheres arms two radiating smaller spheres two quarters larger sphere arm intersects approximately -third length Romanesque style allegorical imagery referencing martyrs St Adalbert ca 956–997 knights dragons medieval theme fight good evil Dated c 1125–1138 Kraków Coin diameter 11.5–12.2 mm weight 0.42 g single round metallic object worn textured surface sits plain white background object silver-gray darker gray shadows crevices lighter highlights raised areas showing uneven rim central relief depicting roughly humanoid shape extended diagonal element surrounding irregular shapes scratches pits varied surface tones silver gray faint darker tarnish.