Dukat gdański - Stanisław August Poniatowski Gdańsk mint

Kop#7804 designates this as a lead striking — almost certainly a contemporary trial piece or mint technician's test rather than anything intended for circulation. The Gdańsk mint operated with considerable autonomy within the Commonwealth, and lead facsimiles of gold ducats were occasionally produced to test die alignment and strike pressure before committing to the expensive metal. Poniatowski had only been elected king in 1764, and the Gdańsk mint's early output under his reign included precisely this kind of preparatory work as new dies were introduced.