Very rare Jan II Kazimierz thaler from the Gdansk mint dated 1650, but with a bust type dated 1649.
The variety in the catalog "Thalers of Jan Kazimierz" by Jaroslaw Dutkowski rated at the R4-R5 rarity grade, which, however, does not coincide at all with the occurrence of this type of thaler on the auction market.
Marian Gumowski noted that in 1650 a sum of 659,694 zlotys in foreign coin was transferred from the city treasury to the mint to be converted into thalers; the need for a quick conversion meant that an old one from 1649 was reached before it was made, correcting only the date.
Piece doubly struck on obverse, but otherwise very well preserved.
Detail superbly preserved, the background with a clear mint mirror, but also with minor scratches and local chiseling.
Coin removed from the setting, trace of the removed mount above the king's head.
The excellent minting quality of the obverse combined with the uncirculated detail makes the coin a joy to behold.
A rare coin, despite its shortcomings, still worthy of the advanced collections of Royal Poland.
Obverse: bust wearing a plain crown and armor decorated with rivets with a lined plain shirt collar, on the chest the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece
IOAN CASIM:D:G∙REX∙POL∙ET∙SUEC∙M:D:L∙R∙PR ✱.
Reverse: two lions supporting an oval city shield, the tails of the lions ending in a single tang, above the shield a laurel wreath with two palm leaves, inside a three-leaved branch, below the lions' paws the initials G-R, below the date in an elongated leafy cartouche
MON ARGENTEA CIVITATIS GEDANENS
Diameter 43 mm, weight 26.67 g
Jaroslaw Dutkowski, in his catalog "Thalers of Jan Kazimierz", writes the following about the thalers of 1650: "The year 1650 shows a much more modest number of types and varieties. As a type, we should distinguish thalers, for the minting of which the punches of the royal bust of 1649 appearing on the first type of Danzig thalers with heavily trefoiled hair in armor decorated with rivets with a foliate epaulet and with a characteristic reverse with a twisted shield were used. The stamps of the obverse of 1649 were used for minting, which were combined with new reverses in some cases the stamps of the reverses of 1650 were also used, on which the date was corrected."
John Casimir's thalers were minted based on the 1650 ordinance from XIV-jewel silver (8 thalers from a Cracow fine of 201.866 grams of pure silver). They weighed 28.838 g and contained 25.232 g of pure bullion. Compared to the thalers issued since the 1627 ordination, the standard of John Casimir's thalers was slightly raised and adjusted to the imperial rate. Crown thalers and half thalers were minted primarily by the Crown mint in Cracow, in addition, from other Crown mints: Bydgoszcz, Poznan, Wschowa and Lwow (unique from the MNW). Among the crown thalers of Jan Kazimierz, an interesting group is minted in silver with portugal stamps. The Lithuanian mint in Vilnius also minted a small number of thalers in 1650 (one unique piece is known). Among the productions of the city mints, the most abundant were the Danzig issues (half-talars, thalers, two-talars). Among the extremely interesting ones are the thaler issues of Elblag, where clipped coins dominated: semi-talars (also minted with stamps prepared for the production of orts), thalers, one-and-a-half thaler coins and two-talars. Thalers and two-talars had a standard (round) form. Torun thalers were minted in several vintages.
