Półtorak / 3 Polker - Sigismund III Vasa Bydgoszcz mint

The półtorak — literally "one-and-a-half" groszy — was introduced under Sigismund III in 1614 as a response to the chronic small-denomination silver shortage plaguing the Commonwealth's domestic economy. The Bydgoszcz mint, one of the most prolific producers of this type, operated under lease arrangements that incentivized volume over quality, and the 1626 issues from that facility are notorious among collectors for weak, off-center strikes — a documented production problem, not random wear.

By the mid-1620s, the Commonwealth was simultaneously funding the Polish-Swedish War and the ongoing conflicts in Muscovy, and the półtorak's fine silver content had already been quietly reduced multiple times since its introduction.