A highly interesting issue of a gold ducat struck at the Warsaw mint in 1773 during one of the most dramatic periods for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, immediately following the First Partition of Poland (1772).
The year 1773 was particularly critical for the Commonwealth – the infamous Partition Sejm was convened to ratify the First Partition of Poland. During this period, the Warsaw mint produced ducats that, apart from their monetary role, also held strong symbolic and representative value. They were struck primarily for the political elite and for diplomatic purposes.
The Warsaw ducat of 1773 is therefore an extremely rare and highly desirable numismatic, depicting the portrait of the last King of Poland at a time when the state was already in irreversible decline.
Variety with the initials AP of Antoni Pertenstein, general hallmarker of the Warsaw mint.
Coin graded by NGC with CLIPPED, due to clipped on the edge of the coin.
Obverse: bust of Stanisław August Poniatowski facing right, crowned with a laurel wreath
STANISLAUS AUG D G REX POL M D L
Reverse: within a square frame adorned with floral ornamentation, a six-line inscription, below the initials A-P
MONETA / AUREA / POLON / AD LEG / IMPER / 1773
