Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Groat (półgrosz) - Sigismund II August (2d eagle, Topor arms)
| Issuer | Grand Duchy of Lithuania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1562-1565 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Groat |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | A spread-winged eagle displayed with head turned to sinister occupies the central field, rendered in the late Renaissance heraldic style characteristic of the Jagiellonian period. The bird's plumage is depicted with fine feather detail across the wings and tail, and the talons are prominently displayed at the base. A beaded inner circle frames the central device, with the circumferential legend running between the inner and outer rims. The circular Latin legend reading SIGIS AVG REX POL M D L surrounds the eagle, identifying the issuer as Sigismund Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | An armored knight (Pahonia) on horseback galloping to sinister fills the central field, with the rider's right arm raised and brandishing a sword overhead in the traditional Lithuanian heraldic pose. The date appears below the horse, within a beaded inner circle that frames the entire design. The circumferential legend is interrupted by the Topor armorial charge — a stylized hook or axe — which divides the word MAGNI, serving as a privy mark identifying the arms of the mint master or die engraver. The overall composition follows the established typology of Lithuanian półgrosze of the Sigismund Augustus series. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Topor arms appearing on this issue identify the coin's connection to the Herburt family — specifically Jan Herburt, who held the lease on the Vilnius mint during the early 1560s. Mint leasing was the standard administrative mechanism in Jagiellonian Lithuania, and it meant that private lessees bore production costs and pocketed profits above the seigniorage owed to the crown, an arrangement that created persistent quality control problems.
The sheer number of Kopicki references catalogued for this type — six distinct entries across a narrow four-year window — reflects the variety of dies and punch combinations used under successive mint administrations rather than any deliberate design program.