Topics of coins
Bracteate of Leszek the White
The end of the 12th century and the whole of 13th
century was a period dominated by bracteates,
i.e. thin, one-sided coins. At the same time, it was
the darkest period in the history of the Polish
minting, coinciding with the fragmentation of
Poland. It was the time of simultaneous rule over
the Polish territory by many princes, each of them
minting their own coins. Most of these coins have
no inscriptions at all, which makes identification
of the issuers extremely difficult. Some aid in
this area has been provided by the large coin
hoard recently discovered in Cracow, which had
been hidden in the first half of the 13th century.
From this find comes the bractreate depicting
a winged dragon. The coin was most likely
struck under the rule of Prince Leszek the White
(1206-1227).
The image of a specimen of this very bracteate
was placed on the reverse of the new coin, the
fifth in our series. The dragon is turned to the left,
with its head turned backwards, wings spread out
wide and the tail curled under its body. This monster
either symbolises the Prince’s power or, perhaps,
it was meant to ward off any evil spirits which might
threaten the monarch. The outline of the façade of the
Late Romanesque Cistercian church in Sulejów was
used as the background.
Our coin’s obverse also features two groups of elements.
On the one hand, the coin particulars including the
State emblem and name, face value and the year
of issue. On the other hand, the Prince’s seal depicting
the Prince standing in full armour with a spear and
a pennant in one hand and a shield in the other. The
legend contains data missing from the bracteate:
+SIGIL[LVM] LESTCONIS D-VCIS POLONI-E (the seal
of Leszek, Prince of Poland).
Stanisław Suchodolski