Caption

Denarius of Boleslaw III Krzywousty (prince of Poland; ca. 1086–1138), ca. 1125–1138. Obverse: in the beaded border, a knight in chain mail thrusting a spearhead into the jaws of an inverted dragon. Reverse: in a triple beaded border, an isosceles cross topped with balls; between its arms a ball (two of them have one dot each; other balls possibly dotted but obscured by under-striking). Allegorical Romanesque style imagery referencing martyrs/Adalbert and the medieval motif of the fight between good and evil. Spearhead/ spears, crosses, chain mail. Coin (denarius), Kraków, Poland. Diameter 12.8–13.2 mm; weight 0.45 g.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A63_489

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 1086–1138 1125–1138 Obverse beaded border knight chain mail thrusting spearhead jaws inverted dragon Reverse triple beaded border isosceles cross topped balls arms ball two them dot dotted obscured under-striking Allegorical Romanesque style imagery referencing martyrs Adalbert medieval motif fight good evil Spearhead spears crosses chain mail Coin denarius Kraków Diameter 12.8–13.2 mm weight 0.45 g round metallic object worn textured surface shades silver gray small areas darker gray subtle brownish spots showing raised indented shapes suggest irregular scuffed pattern across face placed plain white background.