Danzig. Wladislaw IV gold 4 Ducat 1645-GR AU Details (Obverse Graffiti) NGC, Danzig mint, KM-Unl., Fr-20, HCz-1851 (R2), cf. Gum-1607 (RR; this date unlisted), Kaminski/Kurpiewski-253 (R3), Chełminski-642, Parchimowicz-D14, CNG-257, Dutkowski-266 (R5). 13.84gm. Gerhard Rogge as mintmaster. A Baroque masterpiece of Polish numismatics, this outstanding multiple Ducat "donative" issue represents the decision of the city council of Danzig to change the design of circulating coinage from the heraldic city arms to a detailed city panorama with several identifiable structures: the main town hall; the churches of St. Mary and St. John; the city gates and fortifications; and rays emerging from the sky above, symbolic of the divine protection over the city, which had managed to escape the Thirty Years' War unscathed. The designation of "Obverse Graffiti" on the present example would appear to refer to the minute engraved "IIII" that appears in the field to the right of the portrait, a notation of value that is almost certainly contemporary and should be considered relatively inconsequential. Overall the quality is superb, the surfaces revealing only the barest hints of circulation, with full, vibrant luster cascading through the fields. The strike is crisp and defined, the ornate lace collar delicately arranged over the armor beneath, the view of Danzig extraordinarily elegant, and over the whole of the piece is draped a wholesome and attractive harvest-gold tone. Rarely encountered outside of larger, institutional collections (including the National Museum in Warsaw, the Czapski Family Collection in Krakow, the Ossolineaum in Wrocłow, the Archaeological and Ethnographical Museum in Lodz, and the Hermitage), we have been able to locate only one other example in this weight presented at auction in recent decades, the type altogether missing from both the Karolkiewicz Collection and Hess-Divo's Auction 288, Goldmünzen von Danzig. As such an undeniable target for Polish numismatists. Ex. Künker Auction 87 (September 2003, Lot 2185)

HID09801242017

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