Here is one of the ornaments of Kazimierz Zbichorski's collection.
An original first minting of the rarest denomination of proof coins from 1771!
Virtually unheard of in the trade, yet beautifully preserved.
Distinguished from later prints by the thin disc (weighing only 20 g), the trace of the collar on the rim and the almost invisible cracks in the stamp, which must have appeared at an early stage of minting, as can be seen, among other pieces, on the piece by Emeryk Hutten-Czapski. And although these thalers are known from a handful of quotations, only individual pieces come from the original minting!
The famous thaler with weight is the highest denomination from a trial issue, the stamps of which were prepared by the royal court medallicist Jan Filip Holzhausser, who put his initials (IFH) on this denomination only. The issue was made in pure silver to prevent mass counterfeiting of Polish coinage. According to a memorandum from the Mint Commission, it was the removal of copper from the coinage alloy that was to prevent further counterfeiting activity by Prussia. A number of stamps were prepared for denominations ranging from the grosz to the thaler, which were distinguished by an iconography that was unique compared to the entire minting of the Republic, alluding to the romantic idea of issuing in pure silver. In the case of the thaler, it is a pan balance placed under the maxim DAT IUSTI PRETIUM(gives a fair price).
We have had a thaler with a weight only once in our history, but it was a later minting (auction 20, item 5299, sold for 75,520 zlotys). We are offering the first minting to you for the first time!
