The only ever wide Lithuanian sixpence - the weight and size of a half-penny!
The times of Sigismund II Augustus is a period dominated by a small half-penny coin, minted in millions of issues, accompanied in the early years mainly by pennies, in later years by threes and fours. Issues of sixpences are small and sporadic - minted only twice during the more than 20-year reign of this king.
The first-ever sixpences were minted in Vilnius in 1547. They were sixpences minted on the Polish foot, with the Pogo in the shield under the mitre, with the denomination marking on the sides (V-I). Their small issue was followed by a break of several years in minting this denomination. Sixpences did not return until 1562, when large, wide 14-gram sixpences made of licentious silver (almost three times heavier than those of 1547!) were issued.
The wide sixpences of Vilnius, like the "twins" of Cracow (from 1528), posed a technological challenge for the mint. Lack of experience in minting such large coins caused them to be shallowly minted, often with deficiencies. They also caused the stamps to deteriorate quickly.
This, along with the use of only 5.5 rupees of silver (Ag.343) extracted from the Świdnica half-pennies, caused the coins to oxidize easily, deteriorating. They have survived to this day mostly in poor states of preservation.
Shallow minting is characteristic of this issue, but the coin has a nice appearance. With the surface protected by a thin layer of varnish.
Highly valued item in catalogs (R6, -RRR-), as evidenced by the few auction listings today and the high final prices of these sixpences.
Silver, diameter 30.5 mm, weight 13.42 g.
