TRANSYLVANIA. Stefan Bocskay, 1604-1606. 3 Garas (Trojak) 1606 (Silver, 20 mm, 2.10 g, 12 h), uncertain mint, perhaps Nagybánya (Baia Mare). STE DG HVN TKE NP E S[C]O• Cuirassed bust of Stephen Bocskai to right. Rev. GROS•ARG / TRIP•REGN / HVNGAR/ 1606 in four lines; above, value III and three coat of arms. Resch (Nachtrag) 97 A. Extremely rare. Pierced, otherwise, nearly very fine.


Resch listed this extremely rare type of the 1606 Trojak of the notorious Stephen Bocskai – one of the Habsburgs’ most determined adversaries – in his supplement (A. Resch: Nachtrag zu den Siebenbürgischen Münzen und Medaillen von 1538 bis zur Gegenwart, Kronstadt 1925, p. 173, no. 97 A), yet without offering any interpretation of the third coat of arms (a deciduous tree) following those of Old Hungary (three horizontal bars) and Bocskai’s family (a rampant lion). Perhaps this final emblem indicates a mint other than Nagybánya (Baia Mare), but this remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that this enigmatic issue ranks among the great mysteries of Transylvanian numismatics.