A nice piece of a rare trojak minted in 1565 in Vilnius.
The issue is customarily called mockingbird due to the use of a quote from the Psalm of David on the reverse: QVI HABITAT IN COELIS IRRIDEBIT OES. The quote, which was translated as: "he who dwells in heaven will mock them." The quote is said to have provoked outrage among the nobility and the dismissal of the Tykocin mintmaster Gabriel Tarla.
Recently, B. Paszkiewicz has proposed an interpretation of the quote as a declaration of royal will linked to preparations for the Polish-Lithuanian union.
Variety with the ending of the LIT legend.
Obverse: in the pearl rim Pogoń to the left, below it between the trilobes the denomination mark III, in the outer rim the legend started with a leaf with punctuation in the form of trilobes:
SIGISM AVG REX POL MAG DVX LIT;
Reverse: inscription in four lines ending with a trifoliate:
QVI/HABITAT IN/COELIS IRRI/DEBIT EOS; below, the date between the trifoliate leaves punctuated by a crowned royal monogram with a grand ducal mitre: 15-65;
