Silesia, Mechtilde of Brunswick, quarto 1309-1318, men. Głogów (or Casimir II, 1281-1312, men. Koźle)

Silesia, Mechtilde of Brunswick, quarto 1309-1318, men. Głogów (ew. Casimir II, 1281-1312, mint. Koźle).

Av. Pot helmet in front with a jewel in the form of two buffalo horns (or arches) decorated with feathers attached to them, surrounded by a trillium.

Rv. Three trifoliate leaves joined by stems, in fields of stars, in rim in rim of quadrilles.

Silver, 1.70 g, 19.8 mm. Friedensburg 613, Kopicki 5528 (R8).

Condition III+, patina, very nice.

A very interesting coin, until recently known in only three pieces and therefore given a rarity grade of R8 in Kopicki's catalog. According to F. Friedensburg quarters of this type were minted in the Duchy of Glogow, during the regency of Duchess Mechtilde of Brunswick (Anhalt), widow of Henry III (1273-1309) that is, after 1309. This conclusion was justified by the similarity of the depiction of a helmet with buffalo horns found on this coin and on the Fbg.612 quarto bearing the legend CLIPEVS DE BRVNSWIC.
However, the above finding was questioned in 1962 by R. Kiersnowski. This researcher concluded that a closer iconographic analogy for this coin is the seal of Vladislav, Duke of Koziel-Bytom (1312-1351), bearing a very similar depiction of a helmet. Based on this, R. Kiersnowski concluded that the quarto in question was minted after 1312 in Upper Silesia, probably in Kozle. When a treasure of Wenceslas II's Prague pennies was discovered in Warka in 1967, among which there was one piece of this coin, J. Kisielewski assumed that it was minted not by Wenceslas, but by the previous ruler of the Duchy of Kozle-Bytom, i.e. Casimir II (1281-1312).

According to the latest research by B. Paszkiewicz, the quarters were minted in Lower Silesia and Greater Poland, and not in Upper Silesia where Koźle is located. Due to the discrepancies presented above, the attribution of this coin should still be considered inconclusive, although the findings of B. Paszkiewicz seem to us closest to the truth.