Topics of coins
The szóstak (six grosz) of John III Sobieski
Minting activity during the reign of John III Sobieski
(1674−1696) lasted for a short period of time. The mint
of Bydgoszcz became operational only in 1677 and
the mint in Kraków – in 1679, but they were shut down
as early as in 1685. This implies that during the almost
two decadxe-long reign, coins were struck for only
8 years. These were mostly silver crown coins: the trojak
(three grosz), szóstak (six grosz) and ort (18 grosz) coins,
and a small amount of gold coins. The szóstak was
the most popular one. The obverse of the coin features
the bust of the King in ancient style, wearing a toga and
a laurel wreath. The bust is surrounded by the legend:
IOAN[nes] III. D[ei].G[ratia] REX POL[oniae] M[agnus].
D[ux].L[ituaniae].R[ussiae].P[russiae], which means
”John III, by the Grace of God, King of Poland, Grand
Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Prussia.” Below
the bust, there are the initials T.L.B. of Titus Livius
Boratini, the lessee of the two mints.
The reverse shows, below the crown, a Roman numeral,
VI, and three escutcheons with the coats-of-arms of
Poland, Lithuania and Janina (of the Sobieskis).
Along the rim, there is an inscription: GROS[si].
ARG[entei].SEX – REG[ni].POLONIAE, i.e. “The silver six grosz coin of the Kingdom of Poland”.
In the middle of the inscription, there is the coatof-
arms Leliwa of Jan Andrzej Morsztyn, the Grand
Treasurer of the Crown. At the bottom, the date
16–82 divided by the escutcheon of the Sobieskis.
It is obvious that the image of this coin, which
was representative for the minting activity of
the King, should be shown on a new coin of NBP.
The main side of the new coin depicts the reverse of
the szóstak and, traditionally, a small round stamp
with an inscription: Rzeczpospolita Polska (Republic
of Poland), the image of the Eagle established as
the emblem of the Republic of Poland, the face value
of 20 ZŁ and the year of issue: 2019. Above the bust,
there is a fragment of the bas-relief from Wilanów
Palace showing John Sobieski on horseback shortly
before the royal coronation.
On the reverse side of the coin you can see the obverse
of the six-grosz coin, and on its right side there is
the Eagle bearing on its breast the Janina coat-ofarms
from the armorial of Wacław Potocki of 1696.
An inscription on the left side: SZÓSTAK JANA
SOBIESKIEGO (six grosz coin of John Sobieski)
completes the design.
Stanisław Suchodolski