Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 16005 - Ancient, British and Foreign Coins and Commemorative Medals including European Coins from the Peter Woodhead Collection
Lot: 2226

Poland, Sigismund III Vasa (1587-1632), Donatywa of 7-Ducats, 23.55g, 1614, Gdansk (Danzig), sigismvndvs. iii .d: g: rex. poloniae. mag: dvx. lit: rvs: prvssiae., crowned, draped and cuirassed bust right, wearing large ruff and collar of the Golden Fleece, tiny date above, arabesques at start and end of legend, rev. ex. avro. solido. civitas. gedanensis. fieri. f., branches of palm and laurel above city shield with supporters, date in floral swags of decorated base and second, smaller, date below, mint master's initials s-a (for Samuel Ammon) at base of shield and also at ends of decorated base, arabesques at start and end of legend (F.-; cf. HCz.1309 note), mount removed at 12 o'clock but this does not seriously affect the coin, some surface marks but about extremely fine, some areas of attractive pink and yellow colour and some lustre, very rare

provenance
Purchased from Donald Crowther, 3 March 1970, £399

Hutten Czapski lists the 5-Ducats for this date (HCz.1309), and in the 1912 supplement (vol.V) a piece of 8-Ducats weighing 28.0g is listed (HCz.10246). They are from the same dies as this coin. Another 5-Ducats, from the present collection, also from these dies, was offered in Spink auction 236, 22-23 March 2016, lot 956.

Hutten Czapski's note discusses the reasons for the production of this series of remarkable Donatywy.
'Les coins sont d'une finesse extrême ce qui fait qu'on trouve ces pièces rarement bien conservées. Elles appartiennent à une suite de belles pièces appelées Donatywy frappées par Dantzig, ville opulente et fidèle, pour être offertes aux rois de P. en cadeau, lors de leurs passages et de leurs sèjours dans ses murs, ainsi qu'à différentes occasions comme mariages, baptêmes, quand elle ne faisait pas graver des médailles spéciales pour ces évènements.'

While 5-Ducats and 10-Ducats of this date appear from time to time, the values in-between are extremely rare.

Subject to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium. For more information please view Terms and Conditions for Buyers.

Sold for
£52,000