Fig. 3 Cross denier type VI, variety CNP 858, from the first hoard of Słuszków . Photo A. Kędzierski.
In the preserved part of the first treasure from Słuszków near Kalisz, consisting of over 13,000 coins, several thousand cross deniers were found, depicting a simple cross on the obverse and a knight’s cross on the reverse, classified as type VI according to the classification by Professor Marian Gumowski from the Corpus Nummorum Poloniae (hereinafter referred to as CNP). By comparing the similarities of the reverse dies of large deniers of Sieciech – the palatine of Władysław Herman, and previously anonymous cross deniers (fig. 1), a collection comprising over four thousand type VI cross deniers characteristic of finds from Kalisz and the region was identified within the first Słuszków treasure. Through the analysis of the stamp images, it can be presumed that the group of coins likely originated from a single mint workshop. It includes large deniers of Sieciech, depicting the sign and name of the palatine on the obverse, and a knight’s cross with a characteristic wide arch between the arms on the reverse, along with a significant deposit of younger emissions of cross deniers with a simple cross on the obverse and a knight’s cross on the reverse in the Słuszków deposit.
Fig. 1 A large denier of Sieciech with a knight’s cross on the reverse from the first hoard from Słuszków. Photo A. Kędzierski.
It is likely that Władysław Herman minted imitations of Saxon cross deniers in Kalisz, initiating production from coins of CNP 858 variety (fig.2), which are commonly found in hoards from the late 11th century in the territory of Poland at that time. The mint workshop in Kalisz could have been managed by the palatine Sieciech, who began minting his own cross deniers, usually made of very poor quality silver, very similar to the coins of Władysław Herman. They differed from the princely ones only in the depiction of a wide arch between the arms of the knight’s cross on the reverse, (including cross deniers CNP 858/848 and CNP 858/1480 – fig. 3). The palatine likely also minted in Kalisz extremely rare coins today with his own sign and name on one side and a knight’s cross on the other, type I according to the classification by Professor Stanisław Suchodolski. These specimens were made of good silver and had a greater weight and diameter than the cross deniers issued at that time, enhancing Sieciech’s prestige.
Fig. 2 Connections and similarities of coin stamps of Władysław Herman, Count Palatine Sieciech and Prince Zbigniew attributed to the mint in Kalisz. Photo and scientific description A. Kędzierski.
The mint in Kalisz, after the expulsion of the palatine from the country in the late 11th century, was most likely taken over by Duke Zbigniew. During this period, rarely encountered deniers were minted here, apart from those known from the treasure from Słuszków, including cross deniers of type VI variations CNP 813/1480 and CNP 813 (fig. 4) as well as CNP 867-868 (fig. 5). It seems that the Kalisz mint could have operated until Duke Zbigniew’s defeat in the war with Bolesław the Wrymouth in the year 1106/7.
Fig. 3 Cross denier type VI, variety CNP 858, from the first hoard of Słuszków . Photo A. Kędzierski.
Fig. 4 Cross deniers type VI, varieties CNP 858/848 and CNP 858/1480 from the first hoard from Słuszków . Photo A. Kędzierski.
Since the 19th century, bracteates with Hebrew inscriptions have been known, discovered in treasures hidden in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Their analysis allowed for the identification of further emissions produced in Kalisz during the reign of Mieszko III. Assigning some of Mieszko III coin emissions to Kalisz was possible thanks to the inclusion of the city’s name and the name Joseph, presumably a Jewish leaseholder or important official in the princely mint in Kalisz, which sometimes appeared independently and sometimes together with the city’s name on the bracteates. The depictions on the bracteates are very interesting, often not seen before or after on Polish coins. On the Kalisz bracteates, there were depictions of lions, centaurs, or fantastical birds, among others.
Fig. 5 Cross deniers type VI, varieties CNP 813/1480 and CNP 813, from the first hoard from Słuszków. Photo A. Kędzierski.
Fig. 6 Cross denier type VI, variety CNP 867-868, from the first hoard from Słuszków. Photo A. Kędzierski.
In contrast to the majority of well-preserved parts of variations and types of coins from the first Kalisz mint, those minted during the reign of Mieszko III in Kalisz are very rare. To this day, only 41 such examples are known, classified into eight types distinguished by Kazimierz Stronczyński (fig. 6). The Kalisz mint of Mieszko III was the second after the Gniezno mint where the prince produced bracteates with Hebrew inscriptions in Greater Poland. The Kalisz mint of Mieszko the Old began production no earlier than 1181, when the prince returned to Greater Poland from exile.
Fig. 7 Bracteates of Mieszko III from the Kalisz mint according to K. Stronczyński.
The small number of recorded findings of such coins, like other Polish coins from that time, is probably due to the system of compulsory money exchange enforced rigorously during the reign of Mieszko the Old. The recorded Kalisz bracteates of the prince come from treasures. The most contained in the deposit from Anusin in Kuyavia, from Głębokie in Greater Poland, and the so-called “bekerowski” treasure, discovered in Silesia or Greater Poland. Both Kalisz mints were probably located in the stronghold located at today Zawodzie district.
In the late Middle Ages, during the reign of King Casimir the Great, there was also a mint in Kalisz where deniers were made, now preserved in only a few specimens. On the obverse, they depicted an eagle wearing a crown with the inscription “K. REGIS POLONIE,” and on the reverse, a bull’s head, which should be interpreted as the coat of arms of Greater Poland as a whole, not just the Kalisz region, with the inscription “MONETA KALIS” around it. These deniers were regional emissions by the king, minted in city Kalisz, likely in the royal castle.
dr Adam Kędzierski
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