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Półkopek litewski - Sigismund II Augustus Wilno or Tykocin mint
| Issuer | Royal Mint of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1564 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 27.03 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by the large royal cipher of Sigismund II Augustus — an interlaced monogram of the letters S and A surmounted by an elaborate open crown with floral finials. The date 1564 is divided to either side of the monogram, with '15' to the left and '64' to the right. At the base of the field, the Roman numeral denomination XXX (thirty groszy) is inscribed. The entire design is encircled by a wreath border of stylised arrow-head or leaf motifs, characteristic of Lithuanian coinage of the Jagiellonian period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A large quartered shield of arms surmounted by a royal crown occupies the central field, the whole encircled by the same arrow-head wreath as the obverse. The upper-left quarter displays the Lithuanian Eagle (a spread eagle); the upper-right quarter bears the Pahonia (the armoured knight on horseback, the arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania); the lower-left quarter shows a seated figure, likely representing one of the dynastic territories; the lower-right quarter displays a plain cross. At the centre of the shield, an inescutcheon bears a serpent or wyvern device. No peripheral legend is present, the heraldic composition filling the field entirely. |
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| Additional information |
The półkopek — literally "half a sixty," reckoning sixty grosz to a kopa — was a denomination unique to Lithuanian monetary practice, never adopted in the Polish Crown lands. Sigismund II Augustus pushed its production aggressively in the 1560s as part of broader monetary union negotiations with Poland, an effort to harmonize the two treasuries before the eventual Lublin Union of 1569. The attribution between Wilno and Tykocin remains unresolved for many dies of this date; Tykocin's castle mint operated under royal control precisely because Augustus kept his personal treasury there, separate from the Vilnius municipal apparatus.