Mindaugas was crowned King of Lithuania on July 6, 1253 — the only Lithuanian ruler ever to receive a royal crown, granted by Pope Innocent IV in exchange for a nominal conversion to Christianity. The coronation unified fragmented Baltic tribes under a single Christian monarch, though Mindaugas reportedly reverted to paganism before his assassination in 1263. Lithuania remains the last country in Europe to have been officially Christianized.
This is the first in a six-part Niue series dedicated to that coronation. Niue's use of the dollar denomination and royal issuing authority is a longstanding arrangement with New Zealand, dating to 1967 independence.
Mindaugas was crowned King of Lithuania on July 6, 1253 — the only Lithuanian ruler ever to receive a royal crown, granted by Pope Innocent IV in exchange for a nominal conversion to Christianity. The coronation unified fragmented Baltic tribes under a single Christian monarch, though Mindaugas reportedly reverted to paganism before his assassination in 1263. Lithuania remains the last country in Europe to have been officially Christianized.
This is the first in a six-part Niue series dedicated to that coronation. Niue's use of the dollar denomination and royal issuing authority is a longstanding arrangement with New Zealand, dating to 1967 independence.