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1 Groat - Sigismund II Augustus Late bust, Tykocin mint
| Issuer | Grand Duchy of Lithuania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1566-1568 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.06 g |
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| Obverse description | Armored bust of Sigismund II Augustus facing right, rendered in the late bust style characteristic of his Lithuanian coinage, wearing a decorated helmet or cap. The effigy occupies the central field within a beaded inner circle. The surrounding Latin legend reads SIGIS AVG REX POLO MAG DVX L, abbreviated across multiple lines of the field and border, identifying the ruler as Sigismund Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The portrait displays relatively coarse hammered workmanship typical of the Tykocin mint output. |
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| Reverse description | The Pahonia (Vytis) device of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania occupies the central field, depicting an armored knight on horseback galloping to the left, sword raised, with a shield on his left arm. The date appears in the lower field, with the mintmaster's initials SA flanking or adjacent to the date numerals. A column or Jagiellonian dynastic symbol is positioned below the horse. The entire device is enclosed within a beaded inner circle, surrounded by the Latin legend MONETA MAGNI DVCA LITV identifying this as coinage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The reverse design varies across the series, with documented differences in the position of the horse's tail and the orientation of certain heraldic elements. |
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| Additional information |
The Tykocin mint operated only briefly under Sigismund II Augustus, striking Lithuanian coinage at a royal residence town in Podlachia rather than at the established urban mints of Vilnius or Cracow. Its output was modest and its active period contested — most attributions to Tykocin rest on die linkage and provenance rather than explicit mint marks. The Kopicki references alone span five separate varieties for this type, reflecting the considerable die variation that accumulated even across a short production window.
Sigismund II Augustus had no legitimate heir, and the monetary reforms of his final decades were partly aimed at standardizing the coinage across Poland-Lithuania ahead of an uncertain succession — a project that died with him in 1572.