Catalog
1/4 Dukata gdańskiego - Stefan Batory Gdańsk mint
| Issuer | Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth |
|---|---|
| Year | 1579-1580 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/4 Ducat |
| 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 |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field displays the crowned arms of Gdańsk — a heraldic shield bearing two crosses beneath a crown — flanked by elaborate foliate and scroll ornaments. The numeral '8' appears to the left and '0' to the right of the central device, together forming part of the date (15[8_]0). The entire composition is enclosed within a rope or cable border, typical of Gdańsk civic coinage of the Batory period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 8 (_) 0 |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Batory's siege of Polotsk in 1579 and the broader Livonian campaign demanded extraordinary military financing, and Gdańsk — under pressure from the Crown following years of resistance to Batory's authority — became a key source of minted coin. The quarter-ducat denomination is rare in this period precisely because it served a specific wage function: payments to mercenary infantry who could not easily make change from larger gold pieces. Gdańsk's mint operated under tight royal supervision during these years, an unusual constraint for a city that had only recently been forced to acknowledge Batory's rule after the siege of 1577.