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1/4 Speciedaler - Frederik III Largesse issue
| Issuer | Denmark |
|---|---|
| Year | 1648 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/4 Speciedaler |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | FRI|DERICVS · |3| · DEI · GRA · | DANIÆ 1648 (Translation: Frederik III (King of) Denmark by the Grace of God) |
| Reverse description | A decorative vase or urn, prominently rendered in the centre of the diamond-oriented square flan, issuing a luxuriant spray of foliage or smoke above; the word TANDEM is inscribed on a cartouche or band across the body of the vase, serving as a personal device or impresa of Frederik III. The surrounding legend NORWEGIE · VANDALORVM · GOTTORVM QVE · REX runs along all four edges of the square flan. The composition is bold and symbolic, typical of royal largesse coinage of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Frederik III's accession in 1648 came immediately after the death of his father Christian IV, whose decades of costly warfare — particularly the disastrous Danish involvement in the Thirty Years' War — had left the crown financially exhausted and militarily humiliated. Largesse pieces were struck specifically for ceremonial scattering at coronation events, handed down from balconies or tossed into crowds, not intended to circulate. Many survived precisely because recipients kept them as souvenirs rather than spending them.
Frederik III would go on to abolish the elective monarchy in 1660, transforming Denmark into an absolute hereditary kingdom — a political reversal few could have predicted at the moment this coin was struck.