Obverse
Obverse legend : SIG: III: DG / REX. POL. / .MD L..
Obverse description : Légende sous une couronne.
Reverse
Reverse legend : GROSS. REG. POL. 1608.
Reverse description : Aigle couronné.
Historical background
POLAND - SIGISMUND III VASA
(20/06/1566-19/04/1632)
Sigismund III, born in Griespsholm on June 20, 1566, is the son of King John III of Sweden and, on his mother's side, the nephew of the King of Poland. Sigismund III August Jagiellon was elected King of Poland in 1587, then on the death of his father in 1592, he became King of Sweden. Catholic, he lost his title of king of Sweden in 1599, and his uncle replaced him on the throne of Sweden from 1604 under the name of Charles IX. He also fought against the Reformation in Poland. In 1610, he occupied Moscow and had his son Ladislas elected Tsar; this reign was brief because the city was taken over in 1612 by Pozharsky. He declared war on his nephew, King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden, but lost his entire fleet and most of Livonia. Faced with these defeats, he was forced to sign the Altmark truce in 1629, which marked the end of the war with Sweden. He died on April 30, 1632 in Warsaw and his two sons Ladislas (IV) and Jean-Casimir succeeded him..