Seeking Background On The Poland 3 Kreuzer 1615-1618

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,495
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7958 Posts	Posted 03/26/2019 4:35 pm I recently obtained a nice example of the Poland 3 kreuzer coin (trzykrucierzowka) issued 1615-1618 and shown below. This filled a gap for this type in my monarch/type/mint collection for Poland. This type is interesting because, while it runs for several centuries in Austria and southern German states, I think it was only issued in Poland for these 4 years; not before or after. My question is: why issue a coin in this denomination when the rest of the minor silver coinage was based on denar/grosz and multiples of three? Leading up to this issue the main coins comprised the denar(1/18 grosz), ternar(1/6 grosz), schilling(1/3 grosz), grosz/groschen, trojak (3 grosz), szostak (6 grosz), and ort (18 grosz). By comparison, the 3 kreuzer coin is valued at the rather awkward figure of 9/5 grosz. Gumowski does not mention this coin at all in his background material on coinage of Sigismund III, though he does catalog it. Kopicki has it as 887(1615) through 891. Grateful forn any thoughts. Report this Post to the Staff

oriole Pillar of the Community Canada 5246 Posts	Posted 03/26/2019 5:34 pm This is mostly speculation, but could it have been issued to facilitate trade or payment with(in) the border countries that used this denomination? This was during the period of the 30 years war. Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7958 Posts	Posted 03/26/2019 5:48 pm I also wonder about something like that. I know there was a proliferation of 3 kreuzer coins in central Europe a little later, like 1620s, but this issue began earlier (1615), and is already ended before those coins begin. But Poland was mostly on good terms with the Hapsburg empire at that point, I think, so maybe that's a possibility. The need to pay soldiers from Austria or southern Germany also comes to mind (though this would have been relatively small change for that?). Poland was not engaged in the 30 years war at this point, but, was part of the bulwark of Christendom against Ottoman aggression to the south, and had armies deployed there at this point in his reign. Edited by tdziemia 03/26/2019 5:50 pm Report this Post to the Staff
oriole Pillar of the Community Canada 5246 Posts	Posted 03/26/2019 7:10 pm That place and time was rather complicated from a political perspective. I wonder if you can gain some insight by reading a history of Poland in that era? A plausible reason might come to mind. Report this Post to the Staff
jgenn Pillar of the Community United States 1156 Posts	Posted 03/26/2019 9:49 pm I agree with the speculation that there was an economic need to mint 3 kreuzers -- most likely to pay for some kind of foreign trade or debt. That way the issuing authority got the benefit of the difference between the silver value and the denomination value. Why they were only issued for four years is probably significant, too. A debt, perhaps war related, could have been negotiated or demanded in a specific denomination. Maybe the debt was fully paid in four years or the denomination proved unpopular for the trade it was intended for. Edited by jgenn 03/26/2019 9:52 pm Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7958 Posts	Posted 03/26/2019 10:38 pm Quote: the denomination proved unpopular for the trade it was intended for That could make sense. Also, I have read that around this time there was a massive debasement of silver coin in central Europe. If this 3K coin was being used in trade with other countries, and their equivalents were more debased, maybe the Polish crown stopped production to discourage the outflow of good silver in exchange for bad (though I have been unable to find the silver content of this type). I am hoping one of our colleagues from this part of the world has some insights to share. Edited by tdziemia 03/26/2019 10:39 pm Report this Post to the Staff
retiredkper Pillar of the Community United States 541 Posts	Posted 03/26/2019 11:52 pm I am sure the Polish 3 groschen coins were for foreign trade while the Polish demominations were for domestic use. They probably also differed in weight and fineness. The German states did that dual coining standards a lot also. Report this Post to the Staff
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