Denier - Vytautas the Great

Vytautas ruled the Grand Duchy at its greatest territorial extent, following the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 where Lithuanian and Polish forces destroyed the Teutonic Knights' military power. These deniers were struck during the years when Vytautas was actively negotiating — ultimately unsuccessfully — for a royal crown, a campaign blocked repeatedly by Polish nobles wary of full Lithuanian independence. He died in 1430 still a grand duke, the crown having been intercepted at the border by Polish opponents before it could reach him.