9 research outputs found
The origin and chronology of medieval silver coins based on the analysis of chemical composition
Medieval Central Europe coins – the Saxon coins, also called as the Otto and Adelheid denarii, as
well as the Polish ones, the Władysław Herman and Bolesław Śmiały coins – were examined to determine their
provenance and dating. Their attribution and chronology often constitute a serious problem for historians and
numismatists. For hundreds of years, coins were in uncontrolled conditions and in variable environment. Destructed
and inhomogeneous surface were the effect of corrosion processes. Electron microscopy with energy
dispersive X-ray analysis (scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS)),
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis (energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and total reflection X-ray
fluorescence (TXRF)), and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) were
applied. The results of these investigations are significant for our knowledge of the history of Central European
coinage, especially of Polish coinage