Catalog
3 Groats - Sigismund II Augustus Late bust
| Issuer | Grand Duchy of Lithuania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1562 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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) | Ig#V.62, Kop#3303, Gum#619 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Armored knight on horseback charging left, brandishing a sword overhead, with a shield bearing the Lithuanian Pahonia arms visible. The Roman numeral denomination III appears below the horse. The Columns of Gediminas device divides the circumferential Latin legend at the base of the design, serving as the mint or dynastic symbol of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The entire central device is enclosed within a beaded inner circle, with the legend occupying the outer field. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | GROSSVS * TRIPL * MAG * DVCA * LITV |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Sigismund II Augustus began issuing Lithuanian three-groat pieces from Vilnius in the late 1540s, but the coinage underwent significant administrative reshuffling through the 1550s as the king pushed toward monetary union with the Polish Crown — a project that would not be formally resolved until the Union of Lublin in 1569. The "late bust" designation distinguishes this die sequence from earlier portrait iterations, a distinction that matters to specialists tracking the Vilnius mint's output as it progressively standardized production ahead of that political consolidation.
Kopicki 3303 places this firmly within a well-documented but modestly circulated emission. The billon content — barely a third silver — reflects the chronic debasement pressures that plagued Lithuanian coinage throughout the reign.