Poland, Stephen Batory (Báthory), Lithuania, denier 1582, Vilna (Vilnius) mint.
Obv. around the shield of Bathory, I / 8 - Z / MDL, two linden leaves at the bottom.
Rv. under a common crown, shields with the Eagle and Knight, below the star and crescent (charges of the Leliwa coat of arms).
Silver, 0.31 g, 12.8 mm. Kopicki 3342 (R* - knew only from the Czapski collection); Sajauskas Kaubrys 985 (same); Parchimowicz and Brzeziński 131 (they mention the second specimen sold at Künker's); Czapski 5716 (R8); Ivanauskas 1SB2-2 (RRRR).
Grade: Near XF, fully legible coin, solid metal with lustre remains, but with a tiny hole pierced on Obv.
One of the rarest coins of the Bathory coinage; to our knowledge only the FOURTH known specimen (the third was in WCN 74: 108 = WCN 63: 300), and undoubtedly the most beautifully preserved (despite the piercing!).
