Denarius

The ducal coinage in West Pomerania did not develop until the second half of the 12th century, after a relatively long period of using foreign coins (Arab dirhams, West European and Polish denarii) and local imitations. Around 1170, two Dukes, Bogislaw and Casimir, created a unified monetary system based on the denarius, which they minted in the capital and economic centres. Coins from this early period form a relatively compact and distinctive group, dating from ca. 1170 to ca. 1191. From the iconographic point of view, all coins contain demonstrative content, while some refer to contemporary political events. Currently, the denarius with the three-towered arcaded building and the names of both Dukes (Bogislaw and Casimir) on the obverse, and the bust and name of St. John on the reverse is the most numerous among the finds. Because of these images, the creation of a denarius is connected with the transfer of the Pomeranian Bishopric from Usedom to Kamień (1176/1177) and the construction of the Kamień cathedral. The building symbolised the church and St John the Baptist, the patron of the diocese. These two symbols, the bust of the saint and the temple, are associated with the sphere of sacrum, strongly emphasised in the early period of coinage. The Duke was regarded as God's anointed personifying wisdom, justice and righteousness. The issuance of this type of denarius dated to 1176-1180 and was most probably realised in Kamień or Szczecin as the centrally located main centre of the Duke's power, which enabled a wide distribution of coins across the whole territory of the duchy. The representations of the discussed denarius show remarkable similarity to the coins minted in the 12th century by numerous German rulers, especially in Cologne. However, chronologically, the Pomeranian denarii are older, so they may have originated independently.

Genowefa Horoszko