3 Kreuzers - Vladislaus IV Vasa

Vladislaus IV died in May 1648, so this piece was struck in the final year of his reign — a reign during which Silesia remained nominally under Habsburg suzerainty while Vladislaus held Oppeln and Ratibor as a pledge against unpaid Polish debts owed to the Vasa dynasty. The arrangement dated to 1645 and was perpetually contentious, with Vienna reluctant to redeem the pledge and Warsaw equally reluctant to press the matter.

Silesian 3 Kreuzers of this period are often encountered with weak peripheral legends owing to overcrowded dies — a known production issue at the Oppeln mint, not a strike anomaly specific to individual examples.