The Real Life Dracula: Prince Vlad and the Order of the Dragon (album)

In the aftermath of 1389’s disastrous Battle of Kosovo Field, Sigismund of Luxembourg, the King of Hungary and Croatia, established his reputation. In 1408, he created a secret society devoted to repulsing the Turks: the Order of the Dragon. One of its members is the Prince of Wallachia, in Transylvania: Vlad II. When Vlad II joins the Order in 1431, he is given a new patrymic: DRACUL, the Romanian word for dragon. His son is named after him, and given a similar patrymic. Thus is Vlad III known as Son of the Dragon—or DRACULA.

-This silver denar was minted during the reign of Sigismund of Luxembourg, founder of the Order of the Dragon. The Crusader cross on the reverse was a symbol often used by Order members. Vlad III Dracula never minted his own coins—which only enhanced the myth that silver is harmful to vampires.