Christian IV's Norwegian coinage of this period was administered through a monetarily subordinate arrangement — Norway had no independent mint authority, and these small billon pieces were struck at Christiania under direct Danish crown oversight. The 1640s issues came during the final, troubled years of Christian's reign, a period marked by the ruinous consequences of the Torstenson War (1643–45), in which Sweden inflicted a decisive defeat that cost Denmark-Norway the province of Jämtland and significant territorial leverage in the north.
At roughly one-sixth silver, these skilling represent the practical floor of the period's monetary system — small change for a kingdom that had just lost a war.
Christian IV's Norwegian coinage of this period was administered through a monetarily subordinate arrangement — Norway had no independent mint authority, and these small billon pieces were struck at Christiania under direct Danish crown oversight. The 1640s issues came during the final, troubled years of Christian's reign, a period marked by the ruinous consequences of the Torstenson War (1643–45), in which Sweden inflicted a decisive defeat that cost Denmark-Norway the province of Jämtland and significant territorial leverage in the north.
At roughly one-sixth silver, these skilling represent the practical floor of the period's monetary system — small change for a kingdom that had just lost a war.