Caption

Denarius of Boleslaw III Krzywousty (prince of Poland; ca. 1107–1138). Romanesque-style medieval silver coin, ca. 1125–1138, Poland, Kraków. Obverse: in beaded border, a knight in chain mail thrusting a spearhead (issue mark) into the jaws of an upside-down dragon — allegory of martyrs/knights and the fight between good and evil; evokes fight against pagans and Saint Adalbert. Reverse: in triple beaded border, an isosceles (equal-armed) cross topped with balls; a ball at the intersection of the arms and one between them; one arm intersects the other at approximately 1/3 of its length. Diameter about 12.1–12.5 mm; weight 0.32 g.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A63_476

License type

Rights managed

Available size

27.0Mb (1.2Mb) / 10.2in x 10.2in / 3071 x 3071 (300dpi)

Keywords

Denarius Boleslaw III Krzywousty prince Poland ca 1107–1138 Romanesque-style medieval silver coin 1125–1138 Kraków Obverse beaded border knight chain mail thrusting spearhead issue mark jaws upside-down dragon allegory martyrs knights fight good evil evokes fight pagans Saint Adalbert Reverse triple beaded border isosceles equal-armed cross topped balls ball intersection arms them arm intersects approximately 1 3 length Diameter 12.1–12.5 mm weight 0.32 g round metallic object textured uneven surface showing low-relief raised shapes worn edges object primarily silver-gray darker gray shadows slight warm brownish-gray patina areas set plain white background.