Pięciodukat gdański / Półportugał - Stefan Batory Gdańsk mint

The 1584 five-ducat piece from Gdańsk — known also as a półportugał, reflecting the Portuguese gold coinage that inspired large-denomination multiples across northern Europe — was struck at a moment of acute tension between Stefan Batory and the city. Gdańsk had backed the Habsburg candidate during the 1576 succession crisis and held out militarily before negotiating a compromise; the king extracted significant financial concessions, and the mint's subsequent output of prestige gold served partly as a demonstration of restored royal authority over a city that had nearly gone its own way.

Kop. 7448 is among the rarest documented strikings from this series. These pieces were never intended for circulation.