Sigismund II August inherited the Grand Duchy of Lithuania separately from the Polish Crown and maintained distinct coinage for each — a deliberate assertion of dual sovereignty during decades of pressure toward full dynastic union. These small billon denars circulated alongside the Polish equivalent but were struck specifically for Lithuanian markets, a distinction that would become moot after the 1569 Union of Lublin formally merged the two states into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Lithuanian series effectively ended with that political absorption.
The Kopicki reference spans six varieties (3223–3228), distinguished primarily by mint mark placement and die alignment details.
Sigismund II August inherited the Grand Duchy of Lithuania separately from the Polish Crown and maintained distinct coinage for each — a deliberate assertion of dual sovereignty during decades of pressure toward full dynastic union. These small billon denars circulated alongside the Polish equivalent but were struck specifically for Lithuanian markets, a distinction that would become moot after the 1569 Union of Lublin formally merged the two states into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Lithuanian series effectively ended with that political absorption.
The Kopicki reference spans six varieties (3223–3228), distinguished primarily by mint mark placement and die alignment details.