DOI article:
Suchodolski, Stanisław: Beware, the fraud!: On alleged finds of deniers with the legend GNEZDVN CIVITAS and other coins from the reign of Bolesław the brave
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21230#0310
cwitas are associated with the formalities of a corwocation, and have an
exclusively display character."
This would be the first instance of the discovery of a Polish coin from
the lOth/llth centuries this far east, in Ruthenia, and what is more, as
a single find.12 On this basis some Polish archeologists - in private con-
versations, only - were inclined to draw far-reaching conclusions on the
functioning of the route that joined Polish territory with Kiev.
On the surface it all looked marvelous. We are told not only when
and where the discovery was made, but also that it was made by archeolo-
gists. Information is given about the nearby archeological context, in the
form of traces of early Medieval settlement (cf. p. 69 and the foreign
language summaries on p. 73 f.). The parameters supplement the re-
port about where the specimen was preserved. A careful reading of the
text, however, and in particular an anałysis of the included photographs,
gives grounds for pessimism. It turns out that the archeologists discov-
ered the coin not in the field, but in a private collection, and all the
information they obtained came from the owner.
On the photographs (p. 70), despite their poor ąuality, one can clearly
see that the style in which the dies are made is quite different from the
style of early Medieval coins. The relief is flatter, and is brought out not
with a smali punch, but exclusively using a burin with an oval profile. As
a result, the letters and borders are thinner, and their profile is semicir-
cular. Sometimes serifs are also lacking (L and I on the obverse). No
concave contours are visible around the letters, which are legible on the
original specimen. Thus the specimen could not have been made in the
reign of Bolesław the Brave.
While there can be no doubt that the coin is not authentic, one may
well wonder about the date, place, and purpose of its fabrication, as well
as the identity of its maker. The coin was most likely made in the post-
Second World War period, no earlier than the 1960s, and perhaps even
much later. The terminus post ąuem is marked by generally available publica-
tions of legible photographs of the Cracow specimen.13 Earlier, imprecise
drawings could not have served as models. On the Lvov coin, as on the
12 Suchodolski, Moneta polska, pp. 129-139.
13 Cf. T. Kałkowski, Tysiąc lat monety polskiej, lst edition (Cracow 1963); Suchodolski,
op. cit., Platę Wic.
310
exclusively display character."
This would be the first instance of the discovery of a Polish coin from
the lOth/llth centuries this far east, in Ruthenia, and what is more, as
a single find.12 On this basis some Polish archeologists - in private con-
versations, only - were inclined to draw far-reaching conclusions on the
functioning of the route that joined Polish territory with Kiev.
On the surface it all looked marvelous. We are told not only when
and where the discovery was made, but also that it was made by archeolo-
gists. Information is given about the nearby archeological context, in the
form of traces of early Medieval settlement (cf. p. 69 and the foreign
language summaries on p. 73 f.). The parameters supplement the re-
port about where the specimen was preserved. A careful reading of the
text, however, and in particular an anałysis of the included photographs,
gives grounds for pessimism. It turns out that the archeologists discov-
ered the coin not in the field, but in a private collection, and all the
information they obtained came from the owner.
On the photographs (p. 70), despite their poor ąuality, one can clearly
see that the style in which the dies are made is quite different from the
style of early Medieval coins. The relief is flatter, and is brought out not
with a smali punch, but exclusively using a burin with an oval profile. As
a result, the letters and borders are thinner, and their profile is semicir-
cular. Sometimes serifs are also lacking (L and I on the obverse). No
concave contours are visible around the letters, which are legible on the
original specimen. Thus the specimen could not have been made in the
reign of Bolesław the Brave.
While there can be no doubt that the coin is not authentic, one may
well wonder about the date, place, and purpose of its fabrication, as well
as the identity of its maker. The coin was most likely made in the post-
Second World War period, no earlier than the 1960s, and perhaps even
much later. The terminus post ąuem is marked by generally available publica-
tions of legible photographs of the Cracow specimen.13 Earlier, imprecise
drawings could not have served as models. On the Lvov coin, as on the
12 Suchodolski, Moneta polska, pp. 129-139.
13 Cf. T. Kałkowski, Tysiąc lat monety polskiej, lst edition (Cracow 1963); Suchodolski,
op. cit., Platę Wic.
310