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Sale 108
Lot 1250
Kajetan Soltyk, Bishop of Kraków and Duke of Siewierz (1759-1782), formerly Bishop of Kiev (1756-1759). Private Gold Ducat, 1762, 3.01g. 20.7mm. Kraków. Capped bishop's bust left clad in ecclesiastical robes; CAL.SOLTYK EPI: CRAC: DUX SEVERIAE. Rev. MONETA AUREA DUCATVS SEVERIAE A.1762 in five lines within wreath (Kop.6506 - R8, Hcz 9947 - R8, Fr.54 - plate coin). Excessively rare. Slightly wavy flan. Good Very Fine. Estimate Value $20,000 - UP
Ex Henry V. Karolkiewicz Collection, CNG, Triton IV, December 2000, lot 2433,
Ex "The Alicia and Sid Belzeberg Collection," Stack's, Rosemount, IL, April 24, 2008, lot 1047.
During the reign of August III, Kajetan Ignacy Soltyk (1715-1788), scion of the prominent Saltykov family of Russia, became one of the most important politicians at the royal court. Initially tied to the defacto ruler of Poland Count Heinrich v. Brühl, Soltyk, in the 1760's, because of various conflicts, distanced himself from the Saxon-Polish statesman. After the death of August III, Soltyk opposed the election of Stanislaw August Poniatowski and went on to work with pro-Russian factions to dethrone him. But in the shifting landscape of political alliances, Soltyk eventually became an opponent of the Russian ambassador and provocateur Nicholas Repnin.
As a result of his vocal opposition to the Repnin Sejm of 1767-1768, Solytk was imprisoned in Kaluga. He returned from imprisonment in 1781. His increasingly erratic behavior allowed his opponents to declare him insane and Soltyk was unable to reclaim his Bishopric.
Under the Bishops of Kraków, the Silesian town of Siewierz had its own laws, treasury and army, but apparently never exercised any mint rights. Twelve years after Bishop Soltyk's death, his nephew Michal Soltyk had the engraver Szapacha Wappenstein strike private coins for Siewierz - a silver Grosz dated 1761 and a gold Ducat dated 1762, along with some Ducats in silver. Count Hutten-Czapski speculated that he did this in order to preserve related mint rights that were granted in 1232 but never utilized.
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| Realized $24,000 |
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