The only known piece of this type of John Casimir four-ducat donative.
Not available in the trade for over 16 years! Offered for the first time at auction in Poland.
The Torun mint issued donations three times during the reign of King Jan. The first was on the occasion of the king's coronation in 1649. The second issue, on a large scale, begins in 1655. It was interrupted by the Swedish Deluge, which entered Torun in December. After a three-year occupation, in December 1658, the city is recaptured, and on January 1, 1659, the king himself solemnly enters the city. That year, the contract with Lauer is renewed (January 29), and the mint returns to minting donations. Here is the rarest of them.
A type weighing four ducats, with a depiction of the king with his armor epaulet exposed, which on the more popular donativas covers the royal cloak.
Illustrated with a colored photo of this piece in the catalogs of Jaroslaw Dutkowski.
Ex. St. Petersburg Collection. Listed at auctions: Heritage #410 (2006), Gorny & Mosch in 1989 (45/3438 and 47/2244) and Hirsch in 1987 (155/2924). Other listings for both us and Polish gold specialist Marek Kaleniecki are unknown.
Unique.
Analyzing this 4-ducat weight print, compared to the most common 3-ducat weight donations for this issue, one can see that the stamp was clearly prepared here with the intention of issuing at least 4-ducats. The increase in weight in this issue was achieved not by the thickness of the disc, but by a disc with a larger diameter. And it is on 4-ducat discs (such as this one) that one can only see the full reflection of the otolith inscriptions. The 3-ducat ones are simply too small for this stamp and some of the inscriptions are not fully reflected on them, not fitting on the disc. The present 4-ducat is an excellent piece that allows full admiration of the stamp's representations and gives the opportunity to marvel at the coin in its full glory. Something you won't see on the smaller diameter 3-dukats.
We recommend it, as a second opportunity to purchase such a coin may not come for a long time.
Obverse: half figure of the king to the right, wearing a crown, with an order on his chest, wearing armor and a cloak. In the rim:
IOAN CAS D G REX POL ET SUE M D L R P
Reverse: in the clouds two leaning angels with a city shield, above a panorama of Toruń from the Dybowski Castle. In the meadow the date and initials (16HL59). In the rim an inscription preceded by a triangle with a star:
EX AVRO SOLIDO CIVIT THORVNENS FIERI F
