Beautifully, centrally struck, without the characteristic shortages common to these coins. Exquisitely preserved, and historically interesting.
The minting activity of Sigismund III Vasa in terms of the number and variety of types issued is the most abundant in Polish history. The first of the Vasa's did not ignore the profits of minting activities and from the beginning of his reign "drove" numerous mints to intensive work.
Sixpences, then a high denomination, minted during previous reigns only sporadically, did not appear under Sigismund III until 1595. The Bydgoszcz mint mint minted its first sixpence in 1596 and, as can be seen from the present coin, they did not have an individual iconographic "idea" for the sixpence at that time. It was basically realized as an "enlarged trojak". The disc is larger, but the layout remained the same, only in the inscriptions on the reverse is SEX instead of TRIP. The image of the sixpence, which is well known to us today, with the characteristic arrangement of shields on the reverse, was proposed by Lublin and spread by Malbork.
The present sixpence of 1596 is a coin of great rarity. A typologically and historically important first sixpence of Sigismund III Vasa of Bydgoszcz.
Type with initials HR:SC (Herman Rüdiger - steward, Stanislaw Cikowski - owner) and IF (Jan Firlej - treasurer of the crown). Variety with titulature ending in POLO MA D L, on the reverse with REG instead of REGN/REGNI (capital letters).
In the archives of Polish companies only one listing of this variety, an inferior piece (with a pendant mark) over a dozen years.
Definitely recommended.
Silver, diameter 26 mm, weight 4.82 g.
