1/2 Speciedaler - Frederik III small bust, legend starts above bust

Frederik III's early Norwegian coinage was minted under fraught political circumstances — Denmark-Norway had just emerged from the Torstenson War (1643–45) badly weakened, and the king was simultaneously managing the fiscal pressures that would eventually lead him to abolish the Danish nobility's tax exemptions in 1660. The small bust variety distinguishes an early die phase of this short two-year run, with Rønning differentiating Brekke 113 and 114 by subtle legend spacing.