Multi-ducats from the time of Royal Poland are items that have always been coveted and valued. Especially when they come from the times of kings who did not leave behind many numismatic heirlooms.
One such ruler in the Polish royal post is Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki. Reigning for only four years, he was an electoral king elected after years of rule by the Vasa family. A ruler who made his mark in domestic minting with municipal issues, in the Crown limiting himself to proof coins only.
In addition to his few monetary issues, Michal Korybut left behind very rare medals, minted in silver and gold. The latter, typical of medalmaking of the period, based on the ducat standard, of which this medal is an example. The work is from a series commemorating the nuptials of Wisniowiecki, which took place in Czestochowa on February 26, 1670. An important ceremony representing the strengthening of relations with the Habsburg family, from which his future wife, Archduchess Maria Eleonora, descended.
The issuance of these medals was commissioned by the royal court to the famous medalists: the Breslau-based Jan Buchheim and the author of the present medal, the Danzig-based master Jan Höhn the younger. They constituted gifts for the guests gathered for the ceremony. Several pairs of stamps were prepared, with which the medals were stamped in silver and various multiples of ducats. The most valuable of these, for the most important participants, were those weighing 10-ducats.
Today Höhn's medals are not only rarer, but also, as the authors of the study of the Royal Castle medals emphasize,"the artistic level of their workmanship is noticeably higher."
The present piece, in addition to the rarity of the type, is distinguished by its very nice state of preservation.
Gold royal medals already had a high value in the era. Both material and artistic. Many of them have been melted down over the years, or transformed into various types of jewelry. For the rest, high ducat gold itself (986), being a soft metal, especially in the case of heavy multi-ducat prints, was easily damaged and lost its beautiful relief detail. Pieces like the present one, with brilliance, without damage, with only a single engraving, are worth distinguishing.
An additional advantage of the present ten-ducatta is also its provenance.
Ex. M. Frankiewicz - one of four great collections sold before the war (1930). In recent years listed, among others, at MDC 6 auction (62,000 euros + fee, October 2020).
Obverse: bust of the king in wig and mantle, with laurel wreath, facing right. In the rim:
MICHAEL D G REX POL M D LIT RUS PRUS MAS
Michael by God's grace King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Rus, Prussia, Mazovia.
Reverse: bust of Eleonora Maria in draped gown, with laurel wreath, facing right. In the rim:
ELEONORA MARIA D G REGINA POLONIÆ
Eleonora Maria by God's grace queen of Poland.
