500 PLN August III Sas, Treasures of Stanisław August

The twenty-third, final coin of the medallic series depicts August III of the Wettin dynasty, who, since 1733, was the Elector of Saxony (as Frederick August II) and was elected King of Poland on October 5, 1733, with the protection of Saxon and Russian forces. He was crowned on January 17, 1734, in Krakow. Simultaneously, a faction of the nobility elected Stanisław Leszczyński as king, leading to the succession war that ended with the capitulation of Stanisław's supporters. In 1736, a pacification sejm took place, the only sejm during the reign of August III that was not disrupted. Despite not being involved in the Seven Years' War and the conflicts between Saxony and Prussia, Poland suffered as a theater of foreign military marches, losing its position as a strong state. Nevertheless, the country experienced a period of economic prosperity and cultural development.

On the reverse side of the coin is a transferred bust of the king (according to the image by Marcellus Bacciarelli) in a small wig, wearing a jabot collar fastened with a clasp, in a frock coat with rich embroidery and decorative buttons, with cuffed lapels and a ribbon of the Order of the Golden Fleece around the neck.

The obverse of the coin features the text from the reverse of the medal (translated): "Son of August II, elected in the Year of Our Lord 1733, crowned in the Year of Our Lord 1734. Pious, merciful, he could not endow Poland with the blessings it desired, as 12 consecutive diets were disrupted. He died in Dresden in the Year of Our Lord 1763, at the age of 67, in the 30th year of his reign, on October 5."

Frederick August II, son of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland August II and Christine Eberhardina, was born in Dresden in 1696 as the next Saxon elector. Raised in the Lutheran faith by his grandmother Anna Sophia, he received a court education and embarked on a long, eight-year Grand Tour. In order to ascend to the Polish throne, he converted to Catholicism in 1712. His wife, Archduchess Maria Josepha Habsburg, a fervent Catholic, supported the king in his foreign policy and cultural activities. They had 14 children, who, through marriages, became connected with many European courts. In domestic policy, August III maneuvered between magnate factions, relying on the decisions of Minister Henryk Brühl. He promoted music and opera, indulging in lavish ceremonies mainly in Dresden. He enriched the art collections in Dresden and expanded the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

He died in Dresden in 1763 and was buried in the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Hofkirche).