A collection of 30 rare Polish coins, dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries, has been sold at auction in New York for a combined total of $3.5 million (15.3 million zloty).
The majority of the pieces were golden ducats, trade coins that were used in Europe up to the 19th century. The star of the show was a 10-ducat coin of Sigismund III from the Malbork Mint, dating to 1593.
According to Stack’s Bowers, which organised the auction, no other example of a coin of its type and date survives to the present day. It sold for $360,000 (1.6 million zloty), making it the most expensive item from the collection.
The oldest coin sold was a gold ducat of Sigismund I produced in 1529 by the Kraków State Mint. The auction house claims it is one of the earliest issuances of gold coinage from the Kingdom of Poland and a “supremely rare treasure of Poland’s past.” It was bought for $240,000 (1 million zloty).
It was during the reign of Sigismund I, in around 1526, that the issue of the Polish ducat – known as czerwony złoty (red zloty) – began. The last Polish ducats were minted in 1831.
Coins from the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are amongst the most prized European issues for numismatists, or coin collectors. Many such pieces have been off the market for decades and may not reappear for a generation.
Main image credit: Stack’s Bowers
Anna Hackett is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a recent graduate of European Studies from Trinity College Dublin and has had previous journalistic experience with the Irish Independent News & Media group.
