Kingdom Of Poland Coins By Century (963 - 1586)

Hi, antwerpen.
I also collect early coins of Brabant, and I also ask myself this question of why some medieval principalities are more rare and expensive than others.
I think it comes down to supply and demand, both in the historical period, and in the present.

I am not as knowledgeable as other experts here on medieval coins, but from my limited experience, I would consider Cologne/Koln as a place where there is a good supply of 11th and 12th century coins at a modest price. The small number of Ottonian denars (11th c.) and bishop's coins (12th c.) I have bought or sold have been in the 50 - 75 euro range.
I have the impression that circa 1100 Cologne was a populous and wealthy place. So the number of coins issued was probably large.

By comparison, I think in the Low Countries, there was not yet as much wealth, nor as much coinage in 11th c. and beginning of the 12th. The coins of the dukes Godefroid in Brabant are indeed very rare and expensive. However, by the end of the 12th century the situation changes, and the deniers/denars become very affordable.

I am not an expert on the market for Polish coins, but based on my small purchases of the last 10 years, I think the bishops coinage is affordable (church more wealthy than the sovereigns and minting more coins?) and the royal coinage is more rare in this era. So, the bishops' denar I posted cost only $75 (60 eu) about 10 years ago. The royal coinage of Boleslaus II is much more expensive, with examples sold this year generally in the 200-400 euro range.

So, it is a complicated picture ...

Thanks.albert

Been lurking on this Ted-thread. Good stuff!

As we turn the page from 10th and 11th century contributions to 12th and 13th, I will just comment that it's hardly surprising that we saw no contributions from the first three rulers.

A search on Coin Archives comes up empty for the first, Mieszko I.
For Boleslaw I (992-1025), 2018 auction prices were $2,000 (for a rather beat up denar), $5,000 $28,000 and $30,000.
For Mieszko II (1025-1031) $10,000 and $17,000.

So the beginning of the 12th century sees a struggle between the two sons of Wladyslaw Herman for control of the nation. Boleslaw III would win over his brother Zbigniew and rule as duke of all Poland from 1107-1138. His directive on splitting his realm amongst his sons led to a fragmentation of Poland that would not be resolved for nearly 200 years.

Time to post coins of the Polish kingdom from the 12th and 13th centuries.

Indeed. Those kinds of prices pretty much ensure that my earliest Polish royal will remain the Boleslaw II denar I posted earlier. For anyone interested in acquiring a coin from 12th c. Poland, there are a half dozen Wladyslaw Herman denars in the upcoming Marciniak auction, with starting prices as low as 50 eu.

To start the 12th century, here is a denar of Boleslaw III.
Obverse: Bishop blessing a knight
Reverse: Small cross, legend is a bungled version of S ADALBERTUS (patron saint of Poland)
Kopicki 42, Gum. 79.
A comment on the symbolism of the obverse. Boleslaw waged war to conquer Pomerania for more than a decade, with support of the Polish church, as this part of Europe had not yet converted to Christianity.

After chasing Wladyslaw from the country, his two younger stepbrothers divided Polish lands, with Boleslaw IV taking the lands held previously by Wladyslaw (Seniorate Province and Silesia), and Mieszko III taking Wielkopolska. Boleslaw IV would reign as High Duke until his death in 1173.

Boleslaw IV issued a number of types of denars (Kop. 54-64).
Obv: Duke on throne with sword on lap. BOLE Z L AVS
Rev: Reliquary of St. Adalbert. S. ADALBE-IUS
Kopicki 54a(?). Gumowski 88
Grateful if anyone can confirm the attribution of Kop. 54 vs. Kop. 55, which I have assigned based on info in Numista. Gumowski does not differentiate

Thanks!
The better known crown/eagle designs appear later, in 1400s. Before that it's quite a variety of denars in a style something like the German city-states, then bracteates in the 1200s, again like Germany (I have nothing from an entire century, as the kingdom no longer exists in the 1200s, but is fragmented into smaller duchies).

For anyone who wants to see the full range, I will say again that the Numista contributors for Poland have done an extremely good job. You can go to the Numista country catalog, and click on Poland, Kingdom, and you get a menu by monarch back to these very early years.

@tdz, I have a Praggroschen from the Polish City State of Bohemia that fits this week's timeframe and is listed in Kopicki. Is that in scope for this thread?