The forty ducat coin of Zygmunt III Vasa is a fine, very valuable object of historical value which is also an iconic piece among Polish numismatics. There are still a relatively large number of specimens—made of both of silver and gold—struck with the same coin dies, the largest of which are worth a hundred ducats. There has been a long-lasting dispute among scholars when describing various coins struck from these dies as to whether it is a medal or a coin. There are many various hypotheses describing the function and origins of this numismatic piece. Those scholars who describe it as a medal point to its size and the fine craftsmanship, and define it as a gift to the King or his court from Jakub Jakobson van Emden, leaseholder of the Bydgoszcz mint. Others suggest it was commissioned by Zygmunt III as an award for service—perhaps for those who fought at the Battle of Khotyn (Pol.: Chocim). Proponents of the theory that the forty ducat coin or other die versions of it are coins point to the fact that it does not have any features relating to a particular event, as was usually the case with medals dating from that period, and that its form definitely resembles that of a coin. They also point to foreign analogies where coins of such a high denomination simply served as an easy means of storing large amounts of money. An interesting fact relating to Samuel Ammon, the craftsman who engraved the dies for the forty ducat coin, is that he placed (often inconspicuously) the date of its minting—1621—as many as five times on the die.