Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Gdańsk / Danzig) Silver (Gilted) Medal ND (ca. 1637) – Wedding Medal – Władysław IV Vasa (1632–1648)

67.34g. 69mm. AU/XF. Traces of removed mounts on the reverse. 

Medalier: Johann Höhn the Elder (after a design by Sebastian Dadler). 

Hutten-Czapski 2351; Marienburg 8713; Goppel 4030; Dutkowski / Suchanek 564. 

Rare. 

Obv.: Allegorical figures of a man and a woman standing facing each other, holding between them a cushion with two flaming hearts; a small Cupid stands between the figures, linking them together. The man holds a spade, the woman a distaff, symbolizing male and female labor and marital unity. 

Legend around: 

CONIVGIVM · FOECVNDAT · AMOR · LABORAT · QVE · SECVNDAT · DITAT · IDEM · COELO · GRATIA · LAPSA · DEI 

(Marriage bears fruit; love labors and supports; likewise it enriches — the grace sent down from heaven by God). 

Rev.: Two clasped hands holding a flower beneath the Holy Spirit depicted as a dove descending from clouds; in the background, a panoramic view of the city of Danzig framed by two palm trees; below, a wedding ring symbolizing fidelity. 

Legend around: 

PALMA · VELVT · PALMAM · CEU · CASTA · COLUMBA · COLUMBVM · SIC · VERO · CONIVX · CONIVGEM · AMORE · COLAT 

(As palm joins palm, as the chaste dove joins the dove, so truly should one spouse love the other). 

This wedding medal belongs to the tradition of large commemorative marriage medals produced in Gdańsk during the first half of the 17th century. Such medals were often commissioned by the city authorities or wealthy patrician families and presented as prestigious wedding gifts, reflecting both civic pride and moral ideals. The allegorical imagery emphasizes marital harmony, divine blessing, labor, and fertility, while the reverse city view asserts Gdańsk’s status as a prosperous and autonomous Baltic port. Johann Höhn the Elder, one of Gdańsk’s leading medallists, closely followed the artistic language of Sebastian Dadler, whose compositions strongly influenced local medallic art of the period. 

Issue of interest to collectors of coins of Poland & Germany.