Rare variety of the Ladislaus IV Vasa taler with the Eagle on the armor.
In the 1642 issue, Jan Dostych distinguished three principal portrait variants, differing in the details of the king’s armor. The most commonly encountered type features decoration in the form of panoplies. Considerably rarer are the remaining two variants: pieces without additional ornamentation, and the variety with an eagle placed beside the Order of the Golden Fleece, known to the author from only a single die. The present taler belongs precisely to this last, exceptionally rare variety.
After 1636, taler production at the Bromberg mint weakened significantly, and in 1637 and 1639 no talers were struck at all. A turning point came only after the death of the long-serving mint administrator, Jakub Jacobson, in 1639. The appointment of a new administrator, Gabriel Gerloff, marked a new chapter in the history of the mint. From 1640 onward, talers were signed with his initials GG, and notable changes were introduced to their iconography. The earlier half-length figure of the monarch holding sword and orb was replaced with a broad, representative royal bust, which for modern collectors has become one of the most recognizable and sought-after portraits on talers of this period.
Obverse: bust of the ruler in ornate armor facing right
VLA IIII D G REX POL M D LIT RVS PRV MA
Reverse: crowned nine-field coat of arms surrounded by the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece; above the order the initials B-S of an unknown engraver; on either side of the shield the initials G-G of Gabriel Görloff, mint administrator in the years 1640–1644; date flanking the coat of arms; to the right the mintmark hooks
SAM LIV NEC NO SV GOT VAN Q HÆ REX
Diameter 42 mm, weight 28.89 g
