Dwutalar elbląski - Jan II Kazimierz Waza Elbląg mint

Elbląg operated its mint under a royal privilege that placed it in a peculiar position during the mid-seventeenth century — nominally a Polish Royal Prussia city, yet heavily influenced by its Protestant merchant class and ongoing tensions with Swedish commercial interests in the Baltic. The 1651 double thaler was struck at a moment when Jan II Kazimierz was barely two years into a reign that would soon be shattered by the Deluge, the catastrophic Swedish and Muscovite invasions beginning in 1655 that effectively ended large-scale civic minting in the region.

Kopicki 7136 is among the scarcer city coinage entries for this mint and year combination. Large silver multiples from Elbląg in this period were struck in limited numbers for presentation and trade rather than everyday commerce.