Gdansk

In the second half of the 9th or at the beginning of the 10th century a prosperous settlement stood on the site of today's Gdansk. Agriculture, fishing and crafts formed the center of the village community. The official founding of the city, however, took place only under Swantopolek II (1195-1266), the Duke of Pomerania.

In 1308, the Polish king Władysław I the Elbow-high (1260-1333) called the Teutonic Order to break a siege to Gdansk. The Teutonic Knights occupied the city and large parts of Pomerania instead and established their own state. This led to a year-long legal dispute between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order.

From the middle of the 14th century at the latest Gdansk was a member of the Hanseatic League and was one of the most important trading centers on the Baltic Sea. In 1454, Casimir IV of Poland granted the city the Great Privilege, which secured Gdansk far-reaching autonomy rights.

In 1793 Gdansk fell to Prussia. In the Peace of Tilsit from July 9, 1807 Gdansk was re-established as a Free City, but went back under Prussian suzerainty after the Congress of Vienna. In the Treaty of Versailles Gdansk was split from the German Reich and was declared on 15 November 1920 as an independent state, the Free City of Gdansk.

The oldest coins of Gdansk date back to the 13th century. The princes of the city coined the usual one-sided bracteates. In the years 1308-1450, the Teutonic Order held the minting rights and began to strike ducats. After the award of the Great Privilege by the Polish King (1454-1793), the town issued mainly ducats, groschen and thalers in its own name. As a Free City (1807-1815 and 1919-1939) Gdansk continued to produce groschen, later also pennies and gulden.