Topics of coins
Stanisław Żółkiewski
Stanisław Żółkiewski was one of the greatest Polish
commanders, who found a prominent place in the
pantheon of national heroes. He earned his military
skills from his mentor Jan Zamoyski. It was side by
side with Zamoyski that he fought against Tsar Ivan
the Terrible during the Livonian Wars and against
Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg at Byczyna. In this
battle, he was severely wounded, resulting in a limp
for the rest of his life. For his courage and dedication,
he was awarded the crown field mace in 1588. In the
following years, he successfully fought battles against
the Moldavians, Cossacks and Swedes. After Zamoyski’s
death, although Żółkiewski sided with Sigismund Vasa
during the Zebrzydowski rebellion, his aversion to
fratricidal warfare meant that the king did not have
much trust in the hetman. However, Żółkiewski proved
his loyalty and demonstrated his skills during the war
with the Muscovite state. On 4 July 1610, at Klushino,
with only about 6,500 soldiers, he smashed Dmitry
Shuysky’s army of more than 30,000 and captured
the fortress of Tsaryovo-Zaymishche. This allowed
him to set out for Moscow, which opened the gates to
him. The frightened boyars offered the Tsar’s throne
to Prince Ladislas. However, King Sigismund did not
accept these terms, and the conflict continued.
The military success of conquering Moscow was
accompanied by an extraordinary ceremony. Żółkiewski
was allowed to make a triumphal entry into Warsaw
and bring the captured Tsar Vasyly IV Shuysky before
the king and the Sejm (this was the so-called Shuysky
Tribute).
The last years of the hetman’s life were spent defending
the south-eastern borderlands of the Commonwealth and
suppressing Cossack rebellions. He received the great mace,
and soon afterwards the greater chancellor’s seal, only in
1618. By then he was already ailing and tired of constant
wars. In 1620, he set off against Turkish-Tartar forces at
the head of the Crown army. The clash at Cecora ended
in the complete defeat of the Polish army. Żółkiewski fell
on the battlefield.
The old hetman’s chivalrous death gave him immortal
fame, as did the victories he won and his literary works.
The collegiate church he had built in Żółkiew, where a large-format painting of the ‘Battle of Klushino’
used to hang, was a shrine to the memory of the great
hetman for centuries.
Wojciech Kalwat
The reverses of the gold and silver coins feature
an image of Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. Apart
from the regular elements of the coin such as the
inscription: Rzeczpospolita Polska (Republic of
Poland), year of issue, face value and the image of the
Eagle established as the state emblem of the Republic
of Poland – their obverses also bear Stanisław
Żółkiewski’s mace and coat of arms – Lubicz.