Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Półtorak / 3 Polker - Sigismund III Vasa Bydgoszcz mint
| Issuer | Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth |
|---|---|
| Year | 1621 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.88 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Quartered royal shield of arms occupying the central field, displaying the Polish eagle (quarters one and four) and the Lithuanian Pursuer (Pahonia) knight on horseback (quarters two and three), with the Vasa dynastic sheaf (garb) on an inescutcheon at center; the shield is surmounted by an ornate baroque crown. The denomination numeral '3' appears in a small cartouche at the base of the shield. The peripheral Latin legend reads SIGIS 3 D G REX P M D L, identifying Sigismund III by the grace of God as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | SIGIS 3 D G (3) REX P M D L |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The półtorak — literally "one and a half" groszy — was introduced under Sigismund III as a pragmatic response to chronic small-change shortages plaguing the Commonwealth's markets. By 1621, the Bydgoszcz mint was striking these at an extraordinary pace, and the sheer volume produced that year is reflected in the survival rate: worn, clipped, and corroded examples vastly outnumber intact ones. The .700 fineness was itself a reduction from earlier standards, a quiet debasement that merchants noticed almost immediately.
Górecki's B.21 designation isolates a specific die pairing within a notoriously complex series of varieties from this mint and year.