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1 Mark - Gustav Vasa Bust type III
| Issuer | Sweden |
|---|---|
| Year | 1557-1558 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Half-length armored effigy of King Gustav Vasa facing right, crowned, holding a raised sword in his right hand and a globus cruciger in his left hand, the traditional symbols of Swedish royal authority. The regal figure is rendered in a bold, late-medieval hammered style with visible armor detailing. The bust is contained within a beaded inner circle, with the Latin legend disposed around the periphery of the coin. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Gustav Vasa's mark coinage of the 1550s emerged from a deliberate debasement program — the king systematically reduced the silver fineness of Swedish currency across the decade to fund ongoing military and administrative costs, particularly the pressures of maintaining Swedish independence from Danish ambitions. The shift to .500 fine silver represented a significant departure from earlier, purer issues and was recognized as such by contemporaries.
The Bust type III designation distinguishes this from two earlier portrait varieties struck across the same reign, reflecting die recutting or workshop changes that numismatists have since used to sequence production within the 1557–1558 window.