Topics of coins
230th Anniversary of the Constitution of 3 May 1791 – the magnum opus of the revived Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Commonwealth was dependent on Russia from
the beginning of the 18th century, but its society, which
was revived thanks to the Commission of National
Education, the Corps of Cadets and modernised
monastic schools, found it increasingly difficult to
come to terms with Russia’s brutal meddling in
the country’s affairs. The outbreak of the Russo-Turkish
war (1787) raised hopes that Catherine II would have
to loosen the leash choking the Commonwealth.
In such circumstances, the Confederate Sejm, to which
the privilege of liberum veto did not apply, assembled
for the term from 1788 to 1792. This Sejm went down
in history as the Four Years’ Sejm or Great Sejm due
to its achievements, which culminated in a modern
constitution. When the Sejm rejected an unsuccessful
version penned by Ignacy Potocki, who was the leader
of the reform camp, he asked Stanisław August to
draw up a draft constitution. The monarch’s text was
discussed from January 1791 amid the utmost secrecy
by the co-authors of the act, who – apart from the king
and Ignacy Potocki – included Hugo Kołłątaj and
the ruler’s secretary, Scipione Piattoli. The final version
was first introduced to a circle of trusted individuals,
and on 3 May it was presented to the Sejm. Some of
the deputies, whose opposition was feared, were still
not back in Warsaw from the Easter break at that time.
The Constitution was adopted through a “coup d’état”,
but in February 1792, it was approved by more than 90%
of the Sejmiks in the nationwide 3 May referendum.
The Government Act of 3 May proclaimed
the sovereignty of the nation and implemented
Montesquieu’s tripartite division of power. It abolished
the liberum veto and established hereditary succession
to the throne, and by granting townspeople the power of
co-decision it broadened the social base of the system.
The Commonwealth became a modern constitutional
monarchy and began to regain its prestige in Europe.
Russia’s intervention in May 1792 and the war lost
by the Poles brought about the fall of the magnum
opus of 3 May, and, eventually, Polish statehood.
The constitution, however, proved that Poles – “free from
the disgraceful orders imposed by foreign force” – were
able to revive the state. It restored Polish people’s respect
for themselves and for their own tradition. The memory
of the achievements of 3 May drove their fight to regain
an independent homeland.
The reverse of the gold coin features the coat of arms of
the Kingdom of Poland (the official name of the state at
the time) from the days of Stanisław August, consisting
of the White Eagle under the regal crown (coat of arms of
the Polish Crown), Vytis (coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), and Ciołek (coat of arms of the House
of Poniatowski). A visible ribbon with the motto:
Pro fide, lege et grege, meaning: For faith, justice, and
the nation. At the bottom, the cross of the highest
state decoration – the Order of the White Eagle.
The reverse of the silver coin features a fragment
of the painting Constitution of 3 May 1791 by Jan
Matejko. In the foreground, Stanisław Małachowski,
Marshal of the Four Years’ Sejm, carried by
the deputies and holding the text of the Government
Act of 3 May. Below, a fragment of the Preamble to
the Constitution.
The obverse of the silver coin features a fragment
of the title page of one of the earliest editions of
the Constitution of 3 May published by Michał Gröll’s
publishing house in Warsaw, and the coat of arms of
the Kingdom of Poland used in 1791.
Prof. Zofia Zielińska