Christian V's accession speciedaler of 1670 was struck to commemorate his formal assumption of absolute power — a monarchy that had been legally restructured just a decade earlier when Frederik III outmaneuvered the nobility in 1660, transforming Denmark from an elective kingdom into one of Europe's most codified absolute monarchies. Christian inherited that concentrated authority at 23 and wasted no time issuing commemorative coinage to cement the transition.
Davenport's EC II listing places this among the major Danish accession pieces of the seventeenth century. The .875 fine silver alloy was consistent with Danish speciedaler production of the period, struck at Copenhagen under mint master supervision required by the 1665 monetary ordinance.
Christian V's accession speciedaler of 1670 was struck to commemorate his formal assumption of absolute power — a monarchy that had been legally restructured just a decade earlier when Frederik III outmaneuvered the nobility in 1660, transforming Denmark from an elective kingdom into one of Europe's most codified absolute monarchies. Christian inherited that concentrated authority at 23 and wasted no time issuing commemorative coinage to cement the transition.
Davenport's EC II listing places this among the major Danish accession pieces of the seventeenth century. The .875 fine silver alloy was consistent with Danish speciedaler production of the period, struck at Copenhagen under mint master supervision required by the 1665 monetary ordinance.