Commemorative ducat

In 1654, a special event, connected with the solemn funeral of the last Pomeranian Duke Bogislaw XIV, took place in Szczecin. The new rulers of the divided West Pomerania, Queen Christina of Sweden and Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg, decided to mint commemorative coins. The Szczecin mint produced coins minted mainly in silver but also in small quantities in gold. The gold issue is an excellent numismatic rarity due to its modest size (a few dozen pieces). Only three grades were minted in this metal: ducats, two-ducats and half-ducats, all in the same iconographic scheme. On the obverse is an 11-line Latin inscription informing about the Duke’s funeral and dates of birth and death, and on the reverse is a symbol of a skull with a Latin motto of faith in the resurrection placed in a half-arc. The heirless deaths of subsequent rulers meant that the symbolism of death was often present at Pomeranian courts, and the faith gave hope for eternal life. The coins are unsigned, but their style resembles that of other specimens minted in silver from this series. Due to a lack of sources, it is unknown who designed them and what influence the Szczecin goldsmith and medal maker, Gottfried Tabbert, may have had on the appearance of the whole set. His work consists of three marked thaler coins and the same art stamps from a double to a quadruple thaler and the only thaler print in gold worth ten ducats. Such valuable gifts were presented to monarchs and high state dignitaries, hoping for their favour. The ducat comes from the famous collection of the Greifswald collector, Carl Friedrich Pogge (1753-1840), and is one of three ones known on the numismatic market. It was acquired for the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin in 2013 at auction in Berlin (Prof. Helmut Hahn’s Pomeranian collection).

Genowefa Horoszko