A rare variety of thaler with crosses at the ends of the obverse and reverse legends.
Rarity grade of R5 according to Jan Dostych's catalog.
Minor sheet flaws on obverse, but detail good in fine patina.
Obverse: half-figure of the king to the right, wearing crown and armor, with a sword leaning against his shoulder and the royal apple in his hand, on his chest the Order of the Golden Fleece
SIGIS.III.D.G.REX.POLO.M.D.LIT.RVS.PRVS.MAS / ✠.
Reverse: under the crown a nine-field shield of arms banded with the Order of the Golden Fleece, on the sides initials I-I, below the date 16-28
SAM.LIV.NEC.NO.SVE⊛GOT.VAD.Q.HRI.REX / ✠.
Diameter 43 mm, weight 28.35 g
The background of the monetary history of the Commonwealth during the reign of Sigismund Vasa was the progressive monetary crisis caused by the situation in Germany and the influx of spodleniated German coinage into Poland. Initially, the mint rate was determined by Stefan Batory's ordinance of 1580. With the crisis deepening, in 1601 it was decided to raise the mint rate, i.e. devalue the denominations in circulation. The following years saw further legislation lowering the silver content of various denominations. Of these, the most important was the Ordinance of 1623. It introduced a stable monetary system, based on the monetary system of the Empire. During the reign of Sigismund III, new denominations appeared in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - three-cornered coins, halves and orts. In turn, in 1621, the highest denomination in the history of Polish money was minted at the Bydgoszcz mint - the hundred-drachma. This was the crowning achievement of the intensive issuance of gold coins during the reign of Sigismund III. Crown mints (Olkusz, Wschowa, Poznań, Malbork, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Kraków, Warsaw), Lithuanian mints (Vilnius), municipal mints (Gdańsk, Elbląg, Toruń, Riga, Poznań, Wschowa) and a private mint in Łobżenica worked during this period. Sigismund Vasa's Swedish coins were issued by mints in Stockholm, Rewal and Malbork. In 1627, a decision was made to stop issuing small coinage. This decision remained in effect until 1650.