| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 162 | Auction date: 6 November 2025 |
| Lot number: 1398 Price realized: 280,000 CHF (Approx. 345,168 USD / 300,710 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Poland Kingdom. Zygmunt III Waza, 1587-1632, 1592/1599 king of Sweden 100 Ducats 1621, Bydgoszcz (Bromberg) mint, mint master Jacob Jacobson van Emden, AV 347 g. Dies by Samuel Ammon. SIGISMVNDVS III D G POLONIÆ ET SVECIÆ REX Armoured and draped bust right, wearing ruff and collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Rev. MAGNVS DVX LITVAN RVSS - PRVSS MAS SAM LIVON ZC Crowned ornate coat of arms within collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, between the coat of arms and the collar are the initials of the mint master II - VE and the die cutter S - A, in small numerals above, the year 16-21. On both sides oak wreath border. F. 72 ("very rare"); Kopicki 1441 (R8); Jasek passim and p 63-65 (this piece, no. 07) and p 85-86 (this piece, no. 18); Dutkowski 93. Extremely rare and with a remarkable provenance; possibly from former papalproperty. A pleasing portrait of Zygmunt III Waza of fine stye. Marked value 100 punched on edge and several marks in field and on edge, otherwise very fine Ex Waldo Newcomer Collection, purchased directly from J. Schulman 13.12.1936. Ex Stanislaus Siedlecki (1854-1909) coll., Henry Chapman, Philadelphia sale 22.4.1911, no. 162. "The most spectacular gold coin in Polish numismatics" as Dariusz F. Jasek mentioned in the subtitle of his monograph on this gold giant. . The provenance reported in The Numismatist magazine (cited from Jaschek p. 86) "this coin is said to have given to the reigning Pope at the time, and two hundred years afterward it was obtained from a descent of the same Pope" cannot be further verified. If this is the case, it must have been given by the Polish king to Gregory XV (1621–1623) or, under certain circumstances, to Urban VIII (1623–1644). Regarding the occasion for the minting of this extraordinary coin, we quote Jaschek (pp. 33–34): 'Following most well-known sources, the Polish 1621 hundred ducats coin was struck to commemorate and honour the Polish victory over the Turks at Chocim. Despite the unquestionable importance of the religious meaning behind the battle of Chocim, from a militaristic perspective it could hardly be called a victory for the Commonwealth. The battle of Chocim resulted with the signing of the peace treaty, because both sides were unwilling to continue. On the Polish garrison, gunpowder had almost run out, and the Ottoman forces were weary to new attacks. The upcoming winter was also a factor to cut of battles on both sides. By signing a peace treaty, the Commonwealth acknowledged the supremacy of the Ottoman empire over Moldova and promised to put an end to the Cossacks from invading Turkish territories. The Ottomans agreed to respect and leave the Commonwealth border at the Dniester river unchanged, and undertook to stop the Tartars from invading the Commonwealth lands. Such conditions and terms cannot be claimed as a great military victory of the Polish allied army, but rather a compromise between two forces. However, the battle of Chocim may be considered to be important to commemorate by minting such a noticeable gold coin because of its religious aspect. For the first time in this period of European history, the invincible Ottoman power and the Sultan's dreams of a further Islamic expansion into Christian countries was effectively hampered by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army. As a zealous-Catholic, King Sigismund III Vasa could announce his religious victory by minting the 100 ducats pieces. In doing so he could glorify the power and majesty of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, under the pretext of being the defender of Christianity against Muslims in Europe. The commemoration of the Battle of Chocim may not be the only possible reason of minting. The justification for minting this coin may also be much more prosaic. At the time decisions made by the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa were staunchly different from those made by other European rulers. For almost the entire period of his reign in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, King Sigismund III Vasa directed his efforts to expand the union with Lithuania to new countries, namely Sweden and Muscovy. Consecutively, he displayed considerable megalomania and obsession with his power because despite existing tensions with his realm, he was willing to wage war against other nations to get closer to the aforementioned goal. In addition to the endless wars with Sweden, in 1609-1618 there was also an armed conflict between the Commonwealth and Russia, also known as the Moscow War or the Polish-Russian War. What's of significance is that, regardless of the initial success early in the battle, the chance to take the throne in Moscow was lost. It's also remarkable, that despite winning a number of battles, the Polish King did not win any important wars. Eventually, he did not take the throne of Sweden, for which he was constantly thriving for, nor Muscovy, and he remained the King of Poland until his death in 1632. All in all, minting the largest gold coin at the time may be found here as a need for King Sigismund to satisfy his ego, and a way to stress the importance of his rule and power to other countries. Finally, although the battle of Chocim is the only important event to achieve commemoration in 1621 in the Commonwealth, the emission of the hundred ducats pieces has earned an entirely different interpretation. This is attributed to it being used as a regular trade coin. Instead of presenting the commemorated event on one side, as could be expected (this battle is not mentioned by name on this coin!), a very regular element found in other coins – the king, the legends with his title, and the arms – were punched on both sides of the hundred ducats. However, by issuing such a large gold trade coin the prestige of the ruler was highlighted anyway. When looking for a reason to use such a large coin in transactions, we need to remember that at the time an enormous amount of money was transferred from the Commonwealth to Hungary. What's significant is that three pieces of the 100 ducats were found in the collection of the Hungarian family of Esterházy. At that time trade between Hungary and the Commonwealth was intensive, and such a large gold coin could easily be used for payments, as a regular trade coin. Also a huge flow of gold coins to Gdansk resulted with a stable supply of a large amount of raw material for minting gold coins in Poland. Next to its size, the only aspect making this coin unusual, when compared to other trade coins, are the dies used for minting, which are absolutely a masterpiece of the die-sinker'. Estimate: 350000 CHF |  |
