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1 Speciedaler - Christian IV Bust type I, Ornate provincial shields
| Issuer | Royal Danish Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1624 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central composition featuring the crowned Danish royal arms — three lions passant on a semy of hearts — displayed on a large ornate shield at the center, overlaid on a long cross that divides the field into four quarters. Eight smaller provincial shields, each bearing the arms of a constituent territory of the Danish realm, are arranged around the central cross in ornate cartouches: including the arms of Norway (lion with axe), Sweden (three crowns), the Goths, Wends, Schleswig (two lions), Holstein (nettle leaf), Stormarn (swan), and Dithmarschen (equestrian figure). A royal crown surmounts the central composition. The circular peripheral legend BENEDICTO DOMINI DIVITES FACIT runs between the beaded inner and outer borders. |
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| Additional information |
Christian IV struck specidalers in the early 1620s partly to fund his ambitions in the Thirty Years' War, a conflict he would enter disastrously in 1625 as self-appointed defender of German Protestantism. The campaign ended in military humiliation at the Battle of Lutter in 1626, forcing Denmark into the Peace of Lübeck in 1629 and stripping Christian of his influence over northern German ecclesiastical territories. This coin precedes that catastrophe by a year.
The "Bust type I" designation distinguishes this from later portrait punches introduced as the series evolved through the decade. Dav EC II#3526 places it firmly within the provincial shield sequence, the ornate rendering of which reflects workshop practice at the time rather than any special commission.