CHF Editor Coin History, European Coins, Paper Currency

The First & Most Valuable Polish Banknote (1794)

by Marcin Brzeziński

1794 was an exceptional year in Polish history. It saw the outbreak of the first Polish uprising against Russia, led by Tadeusz Kościuszko, who would become the national hero of both Poland and the United States of America. It was also the year when the citizens first started to use banknotes as a form of payment. Facing a shortage of gold and silver, the insurgent administration made the decision to turn to printed currency. Their banknotes did not gain much popularity, however. Made of an impermanent material, they were easy to damage, and only a small number has survived. Thus, they are now sold at auctions at astronomical prices. 

From the Constitution to the Treason at Targowica

On 3 May 1791 Poland adopted a modern constitution, intended to reorganise the country and bring about far-reaching reforms. In reality, however, the act triggered a sequence of events that ultimately led to the discontinuation of the Polish State in 1795, when its territory was divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria. After the constitution was signed, a group of citizens opposing the proposed changes gathered at Targowica in present-day Ukraine, and formed a confederation which asked the Empress of Russia Catherine II to intervene. Russian troops entered Polish territory in 1792. Two years later, the first Polish uprising against the occupier began. 

Monetary Reform During the Insurgency

The 1794 uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko was the last attempt at defending Poland’s independence. The insurgent authorities proceeded, for instance, to reorganise the country’s financial system. King Stanisław August Poniatowski’s right to issue money was revoked. The monarch initially objected, but ultimately supported the Treasury Committee, offering his own reserves of silver and hard currency. Bullion for minting coins was also acquired through the confiscation of liturgical paraphernalia from temples of all religions. 

Tadeusz Kościuszko, national hero of Poland and the USA, depicted on a 1933 stamp. Source: Wikipedia

The Supreme National Council, which was the central civil authority during the uprising, changed the official rate of mintage. One Cologne mark (233.812 g) was to be used to produce a total value of 84 ½ zloty in thalers, half-thalers and zloty. The minting of half-thalers and silver double-groschen was discontinued; the production of szóstaki (six-groschen coins) recommenced.

A numismatic curio from the year 1794 were the so-called półstanisladors (half-stanisladors; from the French ‘stanislaus d’or’) and stanisladors, minted of .833 fine gold. Their value was 1.5 and 3 ducats respectively. The stanislador coin weighed ca. 12.4 g; ca. 5200 such coins were issued. The mass of the półstanislador amounted to ca. 6.2 g; the total issue was ca. 8100. 

Three-ducat coin (the so-called stanislasdor), 1794. Source: Wikipedia

Paper Instead of Coins

500 Polish zloty treasury note, 1794, the National Museum in Krakow

The banknotes that appeared in 1794 were an entirely new element in the Polish monetary system. They functioned as treasury and utility notes, substituting coins, which could not be minted at the time. The denominations of the first notes were 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 zloty, each printed on differently coloured paper. In practice, they were state-issued promissory notes. The caption put on the notes proclaimed that the National Treasury was obliged to pay each holder of the note the amount specified thereon, in coin, at a future date. National assets marked for sale were to serve as guarantee of the payment. 

The face of the banknotes/treasury notes featured the text of the resolution passed by the Supreme National Assembly, and above it, the coats of arms of the Polish Republic – the Eagle and the Chase – as well as symbols of the French Revolution. The latter elements included a Phrygian cap, a section of prison walls and the chains of absolutism broken by the people. Interestingly, the signatures at the bottom of the notes and the serial numbers were written in by hand. The back of the note was blank. The highest denominations (including the 500 zloty notes) were issued in very small numbers, estimated at 500 to 1000 specimens. As for the 5 zloty notes, some 60,000 were produced. 

Another novelty introduced during the insurrection were utility notes (paper means of exchange substituting coin). They had the form of small sheets of paper, with coats of arms, denomination and the name of the issuer depicted on the face. The back featured a facsimile of the signature of Filip Malinowski, one of the commissioners of the Directorate for Treasury Notes. The denominations of the utility notes were: 5 and 10 groschen, 1 zloty and 4 zloty.

10 groschen utility note, 1794. Source: Wikipedia

People’s Mistrust and Subsequent Auction Records

The banknotes did not gain much popularity among the population, for a number of reasons. The promise of a future payment in hard coin, to be made after the sale of public property, had no guarantee. Insurgency authorities allowed citizens to pay only up to 50% of their taxes in treasury notes; the rest had to be handed in coin. Kościuszko’s armies, on the other hand, were permitted to pay for everything using paper currency. Consequently, people regarded the notes with a considerable dose of mistrust. Their circulation remained very limited. Due to the impermanent nature of the paper of which they were made, only a few specimens of the notes have survived. The extant ones are a collector’s item. .

The hitherto highest bid on a Polish banknote was made in February 2019, at a numismatic auction in Wrocław, where a 500 zloty note from 1794 was bought for 220,000 zloty (ca. 60,000 dollars).

Marcin Brzezinski is a graduate of the Faculty of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw. He is interested in the history of Polish aristocracy and old photography. Author and co-author of several books, including: “Adam and Jadwiga Czartoryski. Photographs and Memories” (2013), “Stanisław Kazimierz Kossakowski. I love photography” (2019). Co-creator of historical exhibitions, including: “For here we do not have an enduring city – a story about palaces on the Royal Route in Warsaw” (2010). He has been cooperating with the National Treasury (Skarbnica Narodowa) for several years.  The area of his numismatic interest is primarily historical Polish coins.

CHF Editor Coin History, European Coins

The Greatest Polish Gold Coin is Already 400 Years Old!

by Marcin Brzeziński

The year 1587 began the reign of the Swedish Vasa dynasty in the history of Poland. The times of Sigismund III Vasa are a period of unprecedented momentum in coin minting. Never again in Polish history has there been such an abundance and variety of numismatic items. More than a dozen mints worked on an extremely extensive coinage system, covering the entire coin catalog, from the magnificent one hundred ducats in gold to the modest denarii.

Ruler of Two Kingdoms Overlooking the Third

Sigismund III Vasa (1566-1632), the son of the Swedish king Jan III Vasa and Katarzyna Jagiellonka, sat on two thrones, which did not prevent him from aspiring to a third. He was elected King of Poland in 1587. After the death of his father, in 1592 he hurried to Sweden to assume the throne there and to look after dynastic issues. In 1599, he was dethroned by the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, although he formally used the royal title until the end of his life.

The third throne that Sigismund tried to conquer this time for his son Władysław—was the Moscow throne. Poland intervened in the internal affairs of its eastern neighbor during the so-called of great sadness, after the end of the Rurkovich dynasty, and before the accession of the Romanovs to the throne. In 1610, the troops of Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski captured Moscow and the Kremlin, which they occupied for two years. In 1611 in Warsaw, the former Russian Tsar Vasyl IV Szujski pledged an oath to the Polish king, which went down in history under the name of the “Ruthenian Homage“.

Mint Policy of a Great Country

Sigismund III ruled over a large area of ​​Europe, with an sophisticated and complex fiscal system. It is therefore not surprising that the numismatic heritage of his time includes not only the coins of Poland and Lithuania, but also the Swedish thalers and öre, and even the Moscow kopecks of his son Władysław. These were issued in the years 1610-12 during the occupation of the Kremlin by the Polish army.

Polish flag on Kremlin, Stanisław Nowakowski, National Museum in Warsaw

The beginning of the reign of young Vasa coincided with a great financial crisis in Western Europe. In the countries of the German empire, divided into many small state organisms, and in the Crown of Bohemia, there was an increasing devaluation of the small silver coin. The rulers benefiting from the mint’s profits bought their own coins as well as foreign coins in order to re-mint them into inferior numismatic items with a lower silver content. As a consequence, this practice led to a significant price disproportion between the “thick” coins: ducats and thalers, and the small ones. In some areas, inflation was above 1,300%!

This phenomenon left an indelible mark on the Polish economy. Trade exchange meant that weak, foreign coins were flowing over the Vistula, and good coins (suitable for melting) were flowing out of the country. To prevent this from happening, Sigismund III was forced to lower the silver content in coins and to introduce new denominations to the market. This is all to adjust the Polish currency to the changing thaler exchange rate.

During the times of the first of the Vasa, fascinating numismatic novelties appeared on the market. The so-called “Półtoraki”, ie coins worth 1.5 groszy, which were to improve the trade with Brandenburg. An “orth” was introduced, corresponding to a quarter of a thaler. For a short time, the “Trzykrucierzówki” were also minted, which equaled the three countrymen and served trade with Silesia and the Crown of Bohemia.

The Monetary System of the Republic of Poland (c. 1623)

The aforementioned financial crisis, deepened by the monetary chaos, forced the need for reforms. In 1623, the exchange rates of market denominations were stabilized. It was assumed that one “heavy” thaler is worth 80 groszy. Apart from it, a smaller version of it, known as the “light” thaler, remained in the market. In the following years, the issue of the small coin, the most prone to devaluation, was limited. Half-thalers and quarter-thalers were also put into circulation.

Around 1623, the country’s monetary system included the following denominations: gold ducat and its derivatives (Portuguese, donatives), in silver: thaler and its derivatives, orth (1/4 thaler), sixth (6 groszy), threefold (3 groszy), one and a half (1.5 grosz), penny, penny (1/3 grosz), third (1/6 grosz), two-dollar (1/9 grosz) and denarius (1/18 grosz). The unit of account was the Polish zloty, equal to thirty groszy. Sigismund III flooded the country with a gold coin. Not only single ducats were issued, but also their multiples.

Seventeen mints operated for the needs of the expanded monetary system. These mints were located in: Bydgoszcz, Drezdenek, Kraków, Królewiec, Lublin, Malbork, Mitawa, Olkusz, Poznań, Warsaw, Vilnius, Wschowa, Łobżenica, Elbląg, Gdańsk, Riga and Toruń.

Samuel Ammon’s Golden Masterpiece

Among the list of mints just cited, Bydgoszcz deserves special mention. It is there that the largest coin in the history of Polish coinage was created – 100 ducats in gold, which is one of the greatest numismatic items in the world.

Although Bydgoszcz obtained the privilege of minting coins in the Middle Ages, organized production dates back to 1594. Initially, the mint operated as a private mint, and from 1613 as a royal one. Three years later, the Dutchman Jakub Jacobson von Emden became its leaseholder. Under his excellent management, the mint became one of the best coinage centers in the country, specializing in the minting of half-thalers, thalers, ducats and Portuguese. It was here in 1621 that a gold stud, weighing about 350 grams, with a diameter of 70 mm, was minted.

It was an example of the so-called medal coin intended for awarding to meritorious people. Its break coincided with the victory over the Turks at Khotyn. The project was made by Samuel Ammon, a medalist from Gdańsk. This master from Switzerland became famous as the creator of great portrait medals and numismatics.

On the obverse of the 100 Ducats coin, the medalist showed a bust of the king in majesty. Sigismund III does not wear a crown, his features are realistic. He is wearing sumptuous armor, decorated with the head of a lion. He is girdled with the commander’s sash. On the chest is the Order of the Golden Fleece, the highest decoration of the House of Habsburg awarded to monarchs. The inscription in the rim gives the title – by God’s grace, the king of Poland and Sweden. A seasoned eye will also notice, among the richness of armor ornaments, the medalist’s monogram: SA and the date of issue: 1621.

The reverse is decorated with a nine-field coat of arms under the royal crown. It features the emblems of Poland and Lithuania, as well as the intermediate shield the coat of arms of Sweden – Three Crowns and the Folkung Lion – and finally on the heart shield the coat of arms of the Vasa bunch. The whole is surrounded by a chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Along the rim, the next part of the titles of Sigismund III – the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Żmudj, Livonia. Next to the cross, on the crown of the royal crown, date: 1621. On both sides of the coat of arms, among the ornaments, there is a monogram of the general manager of the mints: IIVE (Jakub Jacobson von Emden).

The same stamp every one hundred ducats was made in gold, in Bydgoszcz, also other denominations, including silver. Over the last decades, the studukatówka has rarely appeared at numismatic auctions, arousing great interest from collectors. It was sold for the last time in 2018 for the sum of over $2 million US dollars – setting a new auction record for any Polish historical coin.

Marcin Brzezinski is a graduate of the Faculty of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw. He is interested in the history of Polish aristocracy and old photography. Author and co-author of several books, including: “Adam and Jadwiga Czartoryski. Photographs and Memories” (2013), “Stanisław Kazimierz Kossakowski. I love photography” (2019). Co-creator of historical exhibitions, including: “For here we do not have an enduring city – a story about palaces on the Royal Route in Warsaw” (2010). He has been cooperating with the National Treasury (Skarbnica Narodowa) for several years.  The area of his numismatic interest is primarily historical Polish coins.

CHF Editor Coin History, European Coins

Najwspanialsza polska złota moneta ma już 400 lat!

Rok 1587 otworzył w dziejach Polski panowanie szwedzkiej dynastii Wazów. Czasy Zygmunta III Wazy to okres niebywałego rozmachu menniczego. Nigdy w historii Rzeczpospolitej nie było takiej obfitości i różnorodności numizmatów. Kilkanaście mennic pracowało na potrzeby niezwykle rozbudowanego systemu menniczego, obejmującego cały katalog monet, od wspaniałych stu dukatów w złocie aż po skromne denary.

Władca dwóch królestw z widokiem na trzecie

Zygmunt III Waza (1566-1632) syn króla szwedzkiego Jana III Wazy i Katarzyny Jagiellonki, zasiadał na dwóch tronach, co nie przeszkadzało mu spoglądać w kierunku trzeciego. Został wybrany na króla Polski w 1587 r. Po śmierci swego ojca, w 1592 r. pospieszył do Szwecji, aby objąć tamtejszy tron i dopilnować kwestii dynastycznych. W 1599 r. został zdetronizowany przez szwedzki parlament Riksdag, choć tytułu królewskiego formalnie używał do końca życia.

Trzecim tronem, który Zygmunt próbował zdobyć, tym razem dla syna Władysława, był tron moskiewski. Polska zaingerowała w wewnętrzne sprawy wschodniego sąsiada w okresie tzw. wielkiej smuty, po wygaśnięciu dynastii Rurykowiczów, a przed wstąpieniem na tron Romanowów. W 1610 r. wojska hetmana Stanisława Żółkiewskiego zajęły Moskwę i Kreml, które okupowały przez dwa lata. W 1611 r. w Warszawie były car rosyjski Wasyl IV Szujski złożył polskiemu królowi przysięgę homagialną, która przeszła do historii pod nazwą „hołdu ruskiego”.

Polityka mennicza wielkiego kraju

Zygmunt III panował nad wielkim obszarem Europy, z całym złożonym systemem fiskalnym. Nie dziwi więc fakt, że mennicze dziedzictwo jego czasów obejmuje nie tylko monety Polski i Litwy, ale także szwedzkie talary i öre, a nawet moskiewskie kopiejki jego syna Władysława, emitowane w latach 1610-12 podczas zajęcia Kremla przez wojska polskie.  

Początek panowania młodego Wazy zbiegł się z wielkim kryzysem finansowym na zachodzie Europy. W krajach rzeszy niemieckiej, rozbitej na wiele małych organizmów państwowych oraz w Czechach następowała coraz większa dewaluacja drobnej srebrnej monety. Władcy czerpiący zyski mennicze skupowali monety własne i obce w celu ich ponownego przetopu na numizmaty gorsze, o mniejszej zawartości srebra. Ten proceder prowadził w konsekwencji do znacznej dysproporcji cenowej między monetami „grubymi”: dukatami i talarami, a tymi drobnymi. Na niektórych obszarach inflacja przekraczała poziom 1300%!

Opisane zjawisko odcisnęło swe piętno na gospodarce polskiej. Wymiana handlowa powodowała, że nad Wisłę płynęły szerokim strumieniem słabe, obce monety, a z kraju odpływały dobre, nadające się do przetopu. Aby temu zapobiec Zygmunt III zmuszony był do obniżenia zawartości srebra w numizmatach oraz wprowadzenia na rynek nowych nominałów. To wszystko, aby dostosować polski pieniądz do zmieniającego się kursu talara.

Za czasów pierwszego z Wazów pojawiły się w obrocie nowinki numizmatyczne. Zaczęto emitować tzw. „półtoraki”, czyli monety o wartości 1,5 grosza, które miały usprawnić wymianę towarową z Brandenburgią. Wprowadzono „orta”, odpowiadającego ¼ talara. Przez krótki czas wybijano także „trzykrucierzówki”, które równały się trzem krajcarom i służyły wymianie handlowej ze Śląskiem i Czechami.

System monetarny Rzeczpospolitej ok. 1623 r.

Wspomniany uprzednio kryzys finansowy, pogłębionych monetarnym chaosem, wymusił konieczność reform. W 1623 r. ustabilizowano kursy wymiany nominałów pozostających w obrocie rynkowym. Przyjęto, że jeden „ciężki” talar jest wart 80 groszy. Oprócz niego w obrocie rynkowym pozostawała jego mniejsza wersja zwana talarem „lekkim”. W następnych latach ograniczono emisję drobnej monety, najbardziej podatnej na dewaluację. Wprowadzono do obiegu także półtalary i ćwierćtalary.

Około roku 1623 system monetarny kraju obejmował następujące nominały: złoty dukat i jego pochodne (portugały, donatywy), w srebrze: talar i jego pochodne, ort (1/4 talara), szóstak (6 groszy), trojak (3 grosze), półtorak (1,5 grosza), grosz, szeląg (1/3 grosza), trzeciak (1/6 grosza), dwudenar (1/9 grosza) oraz denar (1/18 grosza). Jednostką obrachunkową pozostawał złoty polski równy trzydziestu groszom. Zygmunt III zasypał kraj złotą monetą. Emitowano nie tylko pojedyncze dukaty, ale też ich wielokrotności.

Na potrzeby rozbudowanego systemu monetarnego pracowało siedemnaście mennic, zlokalizowanych w: Bydgoszczy, Drezdenku, Krakowie, Królewcu, Lublinie, Malborku, Mitawie, Olkuszu, Poznaniu, Warszawie, Wilnie, Wschowie, Łobżenicy, Elblągu, Gdańsku, Rydze i Toruniu.

Złote arcydzieło Samuela Ammona

Spośród wymienionych ośrodków menniczych na szczególną wyróżnienie zasługuje Bydgoszcz. Tam bowiem powstała największa moneta w historii polskiego mennictwa – 100 dukatów w złocie, będąca jednym z najwspanialszych numizmatów na świecie.

Choć przywilej bicia monety Bydgoszcz uzyskał w średniowieczu, to zorganizowana produkcja datuje się od 1594 r. Początkowo mennica działała jako prywatna, a od 1613 jako królewska. Trzy lata później jej dzierżawcą został Holender Jakub Jacobson von Emden. Pod jego doskonałym zarządem zakład stał się jednym z najlepszych ośrodków menniczych w kraju wyspecjalizowanym w biciu półtalarów, talarów, dukatów i portugałów. To tutaj w 1621 r. wybito złotą studukatówkę, ważącą ok. 350 gram, o średnicy 70 mm.

Był to przykład tzw. monety medalowej, przeznaczonej do obdarowywania zasłużonych osób. Jej wybicie zbiegło się w czasie ze zwycięstwem nad Turkami pod ChocimiemProjekt wykonał gdański medalier Samuel Ammon. Ten pochodzący ze Szwajcarii mistrz zasłynął jako twórca wspaniałych medali portretowych i numizmatów.

Na awersie studukatówki medalier ukazał popiersie króla w majestacie. Zygmunt III nie nosi korony, rysy jego twarzy są realistyczne. Ma na sobie paradną zbroję, ozdobioną głową lwa. Jest przepasany szarfą dowódcy. Na piersi widać Order Złotego Runa, najwyższe odznaczenie domu habsburskiego przyznawane monarchom. Napis w otoku podaje tytulaturę – z Bożej łaski król Polski i Szwecji. Wytrawne oko dostrzeże także, pośród bogactwa ornamentów zbroi, monogram medaliera: SA i datę emisji: 1621.

Rewers zdobi dziewięciopolowy herb pod koroną królewską. Widnieją na nim Orzeł Biały i Pogoń Litewska, na tarczy pośredniej herby Szwecji – Trzy Korony i Lew Folkungów, wreszcie na tarczy sercowej herb Wazów Snopek. Całość otoczona łańcuchem Orderu Złotego Runa. W otoku dalsza cześć tytulatury Zygmunta III –  wielki książę litewski, ruski, pruski, mazowiecki, żmudzki, inflancki. Obok krzyża na zwieńczeniu korony królewskiej data: 1621. Po obu stronach tarczy herbowej, wśród ornamentów monogram generalnego zarządcy mennic: IIVE (Jakub Jacobson von Emden).

Tym samym stemplem co sto dukatów wybito w złocie, w Bydgoszczy, również inne nominały, także srebrne. Na przestrzeni ostatnich dziesięcioleci studukatówka niezwykle rzadko pojawiała się na aukcjach numizmatycznych wzbudzając ogromne zainteresowanie kolekcjonerów. Po raz ostatni została sprzedana w 2018 r. za sumę ponad 2 milionów dolarów USA, ustanawiając tym samym rekord aukcyjny dla polskiej monety historycznej.

CHF Editor Coin History, Medieval Coins, Publications

Announcing a new Dirhem book by Jani Oravisjärvi

The Coins & History Foundation is proud to announce the publication of a major new work explaining the history and impacts of the Islamic silver coins called “Dirhems.” The author, Jani Oravisjärvi, is an archaeologist currently working as a project researcher (University of Oulu) on The Silver and origins of the Viking Age -project. Jani is a former keeper of the numismatic collections at the National Museum of Finland and a former executive secretary and board member of the Finnish Numismatic Society.

The book is available for purchase at Suomen Moneta in Helsinki, Finland: https://www.suomenmoneta.fi/muut-tuotteet/dirhemin-synty-kirja

Here is a short excerpt from the book’s introduction:

“One group of coins was issued during the period 1300 years ago, which we we know today as the Viking Age. The coins that started it all are dirhems. Those Islamic silver coins weighing just under three grams changed the direction of history and ushered in a whole new chapter in coins and currency. Dirhems formed a continuous stream of silver flowing along the eastern road through Europe to the North for two hundred for a year from the early 800s to the early 1000s. Without dirhams, the Viking Age and others to follow would have looked very differently.”

“Despite their importance, dirhems and other money of early Islamic culture are not very well-known among the general public. Early Islamic money is the oldest witness to Arab and Islamic identity so they can also be approached, for example, from a cultural and religious history point of view. In many matters related to Arab and Islamic history money is an excellent – and sometimes even the only – group of known objects, whose provable value cannot be underestimated or disputed.”

To read an entire chapter from this Dirhem book in English, click here: https://coinsandhistoryfoundation.org/2021/03/15/dirhemin-synty-english-finnish/

To read that same chapter in its original Finnish, click here: https://coinsandhistoryfoundation.org/2021/03/15/dirhemin-synty-finnish/