How Far Back Can We Go? Eighth Edition!

Hildesheim 1/24 Thaler 1603:

Great examples!

Last of a mini-run of Krakow trojaks for 1601 (actually I think it was 4 of the last 5 years).



The previous year the Krakow mint (for centuries the main Polish Royal Mint) had been reopened and began striking coins for the first time in over 50 years and three reigns (Sigismund II, Henry of France and Stephen Bathory did not produce coins there). At the same time, Sigismund III closed a number of "local" royal mints (Lublin, Malbork, Olkusz, Poznan and Wschowa), leaving only Krakow and Bydgoszcz for Poland proper (also Vilnius for Lithuania, and Gdansk and Elbing in previous Prussian lands).

Not terribly exciting info for U.S. collectors, but I think we will see some more of Sigismund's coins over the next 11 years from some other contributors, none of them with the uniform portraiture (and legends) of the ones we just saw for 1601-1605. The diversity of the mints from 1588-1601 explains the variety in the coins.

Sweet three digit date @keith!

Here is another Polish-occupied Livonia Shilling. I'll have another one for tomorrow as we get ready to close out the 17th Century.

(1)600 Dutchy of Livonia, Poland - 1 Shilling
https://en.numista.com/78799

I'm thinking that you mean me for the (1)600, but that's ok..

I used to believe that this little Russian wire kopek had an 1600 strike and an 1601 strike, but apparently it actually had two 1601 strikes.

So it's a little belated. Still an interesting coin though.
(And it's 1600/1, so close enough.)




Tsardom of Russia, Boris Godunov
AR wire kopek (0.65 grams, 15x12 mm)
dated Pθ = (7)209 AM = 1600/1 AD
KG 217 (obv 5/rev 4 in the catalog)



same date, KG 216 (obv 5/rev 2)
[previously attributed as obv 2/rev 2 = KG 209, dated PH = (7)208 AM = 1599/1600 AD; in fact the θ = 9 part of the date is visible at 5h]

WELCOME TO THE 16th CENTURY!

1599 Polish 6 groszy, Malbork mint (I think there is at least one other out there):