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The present research is focused on the 3-Polker coins issued during 1619–1627 by Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland. A major financial crisis took place at that time due to the 30-year War, which started in 1619. There are two theories among historians concerning the silver depreciation of these coins. The most common theory (generally accepted without proof) is that the later years of issue are depreciated below 60% Ag. The second theory is based on the medieval sources that indicate inflation during the years from 1621–1625, but the medieval source only refers to the inflation of the type of coins and does not mention the issuer. Therefore, in this study, we use modern investigation techniques and materials science methods to help historians elucidate the aforementioned aspects regarding the medieval period. The XRD investigation results are in good agreement with the SEM-EDX elemental analysis. The coins from 1619 and 1620 have high silver content, namely, 86.97% and 92.49%, which corresponds to good silver. The amount of Ag found in the coins from 1621–1625 issituated in the range of 63.2–74.6%. The silver titleis suddenly restored in 1626 at about 84.3% and is kept in a good range until the end of this decree under Sigismund III in 1627. In conclusion, the second theory was partly validated by our experimental results, certifying the currency depreciation during 1621–1625, but the silver title was not lower than 54.2%. Notably, even this depreciated silver title assures a good quality of the 3-Polker coins compared to similar coins issued in other countries that were copper–silver-plated. Therefore, the 3-Polker coins were preferably hoarded at that time.Small alterations in the mint mark's design were observed in all the depreciated coins compared to the good ones. This might be a sign for an expert to identify the depreciated coins, a fact which requires supplementary investigations. The silver title's restoration in 1626 also came with a complete change of the mintmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One denier of King Vladislaus I (1140--1158--1172), type Cach 614a, was found single near Stary Radziejów (Radziejów commune and district). This is the second find of the Bohemian coin dating to the 12th century in Poland, and the first coin of the mentioned king found there. The meaning of the obverse image of this coin is not clear, in any case, it represents the king with his sword bearer. On the reverse, there is a bust of Saint Wenceslas facing, surrounded by buildings. In the same area, the following coins were discovered: a Florentine picciolo of the fourteenth or fifteenth century (the first case of a medieval silver Florentine coin found in Poland) and the denier of King Casimir the Great, minted in Cracow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the Bohemian coins discovered during the archaeological excavations at two Early Medieval cemeteries. At the location Bodzia, 58 graves dating to the 10th--11th centuries have been discovered. In 24 of them, 12 complete coins and 55 coin fragments have been found. Three of these coins were classified as Bohemian: one complete denier and one denier fragment produced under Boleslaus II and one fragment of denier struck under Boleslaus III. At the location Dziekanowice (10th--13th centuries), some 30 complete coins and 87 coin fragments have been discovered after examination of 1,665 graves. The Bohemian coins there were represented by five fragments. Some of them were too small for precise attribution. Hypothetically, they could be classified as deniers produced under Vladivoj I, Jaromír I, Břetislaus I, Spytihněv II and Vratislaus II. In Poland, 3,840 Bohemian and Moravian coins of the 10th--11th centuries have been registered in total, which represents only 1.5 % of all Early Medieval coins found in the Polish territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]