“Treasures of Stanisław August – Augustus III”

Narodowy Bank Polski has announced that two collector coins of the series “Treasures of Stanisław August” – “Augustus III” are available for sale – a gold coin with a face value of 500 złoty and a silver coin with a face value of 50 złoty.

The collector coins with the image of King Augustus III are the last coins of the series “Treasures of Stanisław August” reproducing the famous 18th century medallic series with the images of the kings of Poland, which was struck by order of Stanisław August Poniatowski. The series “Treasures of Stanisław August” was issued in the years 2013-2023.

The reverse of the twenty third coin features a bust of the king, transferred from the medal (according to a painting by Marcello Bacciarelli) with the profile facing right, in a small wig with a queue, wearing a stock tie with a jabot  fastened with a pin, dressed in a tailcoat with rich embroidery and ornamental buttons, with frogged lapels and the ribbon of the Order of the Golden Fleece around his neck.

On the obverse of the coin, the text from the reverse of the medal (in translation) reads: Son of Augustus II the Strong, elected Anno Domini 1733, crowned Anno Domini 1734. Pious, gracious, he did not manage to endow Poland with the goods he wished for her, as 12 Sejm sessions were successively broken off. He died in Dresden, Anno Domini 1763, aged 67, in the 30th year of his reign, on 5 October.

Augustus III (1696–1763), of the Wettin dynasty, was Elector of Saxony (as Frederick Augustus II) from 1733.He was elected King of Poland on 5 October 1733 under the  protection of Saxon and Russian troops and crowned on 17 January 1734 in Kraków. At the same time, part of the nobility elected Stanisław Leszczyński as king, which resulted in a succession war that ended with the capitulation of Stanisław’s supporters. In 1736, a conciliatory Sejm (parliament session) was held, the only Sejm not broken off during the reign of Augustus III. Poland, not being a party to the Seven Years’ War and Saxony’s armed conflicts with Prussia, suffered as a theatre of foreign army marches and lost its position as a strong state. Despite this, the country enjoyed a period of economic prosperity and cultural development.

Friedrich August II, son of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland Augustus II the Strong and Christiane Eberhardine, was born in Dresden in 1696 as the next Elector of Saxony. He was brought up in the Lutheran faith by his grandmother Anna Sophia, received a courtly education and completed the long-lasting eight-year Grand Tour. To ascend to the Polish throne, he converted to Catholicism in 1712. His wife, Archduchess Maria Josepha Habsburg, a staunch Catholic, supported the king in his foreign policy and cultural activities. They had 14 children, who, through their marriages, colligated with many courts of Europe. In domestic politics, Augustus III manoeuvred between magnate coteries, relying on the decisions of his minister Henry Brühl. He promoted music and opera and relished lavish festivities, mainly in Dresden. He enriched Dresden’s art collections and extended the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

Augustus III died in Dresden in 1763 and was buried there in the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Hofkirche).

The silver coin with a face value of 50 złoty will be minted in up to 6,000 pieces and  available at the price of PLN 950. The mintage of the gold coin with a face value of 500 złoty will be up to 600 pieces, it will be sold at the price of PLN 20,000. The coins can be purchased at NBP regional branches and in the NBP online shop Kolekcjoner.

For more information, go to the brochure

NBP collector coins and notes are sold in commercial packaging with an attached certificate.

The next issue of collector coins is scheduled for 23 January 2024. On that date, Narodowy Bank Polski will be putting into circulation gold collector coins of the series “Banknotes in Circulation in Poland” – “The 20 Złoty Note”.

Contact data:

Contact for collectors: e-mail kolekcjoner@nbp.pl, tel. +48 22 185 9159 or +48 22 185 1303

Contact for the media: e-mail press@nbp.pl, tel. +48 22 185 2012

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About NBP

Narodowy Bank Polski holds the exclusive right to issue banknotes and coins in Poland. All currency issued by NBP – including collector banknotes and coins – is legal tender in Poland. Issuing collector items is an occasion to commemorate important historic figures and anniversaries, as well as to develop the interest of the public in Polish culture, science and tradition.

High-resolution images of the coins: https://nbp.pl/en/coins-and-banknotes/collector-coins/catalogue/