Sigismund III Vasa is a king who left behind not only a wealth of coin types and varieties, but also devalued many of the denominations. One of these were the pennies, which were minted at the turn of his reign in accordance with three reforms that successively lowered their silver content. So much so that early pennies, minted until 1599, were about twice as good as those from the end of his reign. Both were larger, heavier and minted in better silver, as our specialist Marcin Zmudzin discusses in a lecture on our Youtube channel.
A good example of this are the Lublin pennies, which, although minted on a large scale, as evidenced by the variety of their varieties, are very rare today. Over the years they were, according to one of Copernicus' laws, pushed out of circulation by inferior money. They were caught and melted down.
This applies to all their types, including the one most valuable to collectors - with a bust of a king without a crown.
Being aware of these facts, it is worth especially appreciating the beauty of this piece. It is a mint fresh coin. Natural, well struck. Minting slightly shallower behind the head, but without the pronounced deficiency common for this issue.
This is a coin from the period of Melchior Reysner's management of the Lublin mint, with his monogram placed in the shield, at the bottom of the reverse.
A variety with an abbreviated date in the rim and the abbreviation for the word "kingdoms" (RE-G) separated.
In addition, with an error in the king's titulary - REX-(sic!) M-D-L- , where P[OLONIAE] was missing, creating the legend: Sigismund 3 by God's grace King, Grand Duke of Lithuania.
A very rare penny in this condition.
