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1 Schilling - Gotthard Kettler Riga
| Issuer | Livonian Order |
|---|---|
| Year | 1560-1561 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.11 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field features the arms of the Livonian Order — a cross pattée overlaid with an escutcheon bearing the Order's device — set within a beaded inner circle. The surrounding legend is divided into four sections by the arms of the cross, rendered in Gothic lettering. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, typical of hammered billon coinage of the mid-sixteenth century. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | GOTH - ART - D · G · M - LIVO - (Translation: Gotthard Dei Gratia Magistri Livoniae Gotthard, with God`s grace, Master of Livonia) |
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| Additional information |
Gotthard Kettler issued these schillings during the opening phase of the Livonian War, with Ivan IV's forces having already overrun much of the eastern territory. By 1561 Kettler had negotiated the Union of Vilnius, dissolving the Livonian Order entirely and converting himself from Grand Master into the first Duke of Courland under Polish-Lithuanian suzerainty. These coins were struck knowing the issuing authority would cease to exist — Riga's mint was producing currency for a state in the process of legally dismantling itself.