A rare, first vintage of Sobieski's Krakow trojak.
A distinctive issue with the letter B under the bust, the initial of Gotfried Bartsch, tenant of the mint.
Unlisted variant in the Iger catalog with the letter B separating the RE-X after the letter E.
A very nicely preserved piece, especially for this type of issue, with a characteristic shallow minting.
Coin in a celadon patina with lots of luster.
A desirable and sought-after item, regardless of its state of preservation, and particularly rare in the condition presented.
In view of the unrealistic assumptions of the 1676 minting ordinance, the following year the extraordinary parliament decided to return to the 1658 ordinance, from the reign of Jan Kazimierz. In 1677 the Bydgoszcz mint was launched, and two years later the Kraków mint. Crown coins were minted there - trojaks, sixpences, orts, thalers, ducats and two-ducats. The crown minting during the reign of Jan Sobieski was burdened by outstanding liabilities to Titus Livius Boratini, dating back to the time of Jan Kazimierz. In order to satisfy the claims of the minting entrepreneur, the lease of the mints in Bydgoszcz and later in Cracow was transferred to him. After Boratini's death (1682), the lease passed to his heirs (until 1684). For this reason, some of the crown coins bear the initials "TLB" placed on coins even after Boratini's death. Of the city mints, only the Gdansk mint worked during the period in question, minting shekels, thalers and gold coins.
During the reign of Jan Sobieski, trojaks were minted on the basis of an ordinance of 1658. They had a VI-gold purity, weighed an average of 1.682 g and contained 0.631 g of pure silver. Trojaks were issued by two mints: the Cracow mint in 1684 and 1685 and the Bydgoszcz mint in 1684. The former are characterized by the image of the king with a crown on his head. The Bydgoszcz issues, on the other hand, can be recognized by the laurel wreath on the monarch's head. All varieties of Jan Sobieski's trojaks belong to rare coins (in T. Iger's catalog from R3 to R6).
