Caption

Denarius of Boleslaw III Krzywousty (prince of Poland; ca. 1086–1138), ca. 1125–1138. Obverse: within a beaded border, a knight in chain mail thrusting a spearhead into the jaws of an upside-down dragon; under the knight's right elbow, an isosceles cross topped with balls. Reverse: within a triple beaded border, an isosceles cross topped with balls; at the intersection of the arms a ball, and between that central ball and a crossbar at the end of one arm a single ball; one arm intersects the other at approximately one-third of its length. Motifs: knight, dragon, fight between good and evil, fight against pagans, martyrs, spears, equal-armed cross; Romanesque style; possible reference to Saint Adalbert. Coin; Kraków, Poland. Diameter 12.6–13.1 mm; weight 0.44 g.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A64_484

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 within beaded border knight chain mail thrusting spearhead jaws upside-down dragon under knight's right elbow isosceles cross topped balls Reverse triple beaded border intersection arms ball central ball crossbar arm single ball arm intersects approximately -third length Motifs dragon fight good evil pagans martyrs spears equal-armed cross Romanesque style possible reference Saint Adalbert Coin Kraków Diameter 12.6–13.1 mm weight 0.44 g single round metallic object sits white background showing worn uneven surface irregular raised indented areas silvery-gray darker gray shadows slight variations lighter silver highlights edge textured rim small ridges depressions.