Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Ort
Poland
1650–1696
Reference data compiled from public catalogs
Estimated Melt Value
$12.41
Based on Silver spot price ($79.17/oz) · 75.0% purity · 6.5g
Updated 6:41 PM
Collector premium not included
Specifications
| Country | Poland |
| Years Minted | 1650–1696 |
| Composition | 0.750 silver |
| Weight | 6.5 g |
| Diameter | 28 mm |
| Shape | Round |
Design
Obverse
Features the bust of the ruling king or the Commonwealth's coat of arms.
Reverse
Depicts the denomination, date, and often shields or the Polish eagle.
History & Notable Facts
The most intriguing fact about the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Ort is that it was often struck on planchets made from melted-down Spanish reales, a wartime shortcut that highlights the era's silver shortages.
This silver fractional coin, minted between 1650 and 1696, served as a workhorse for daily transactions in the Union. Its obverse typically bore the portrait of a king like John II Casimir, while the reverse showed the Commonwealth's coat of arms, blending Polish and Lithuanian symbols. Designs varied by mint, with Warsaw and Gdańsk producing the bulk, though quality suffered from the era's conflicts.
We don't know the exact mintage for most years; records from that period are spotty, likely lost to fires or invasions. Variations in weight and purity were common, reflecting the chaos of the Deluge wars.
If you squint, some Orts resemble their Spanish predecessors, but that's probably just coincidence—or a numismatist's overactive imagination.
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