Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Mint of Riga |
|---|---|
| Year | 1616-1617 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Billon |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | SIG · III · DG · REX · POL · M · D · L · (Translation: Sigismund III Dei Gratia Rex Polonia Magnus Dux Livoniae Sigismund III Vasa, with God`s grace, King of Poland and great Duke of Livonia) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Sigismund III's Riga issues of this period reflect the administrative tangle of a Swedish-controlled city being coerced into producing coinage for a Polish-Lithuanian king who had lost the Swedish throne in 1599. The Riga mint operated under municipal authority, and its relationship with Sigismund was perpetually fraught — the city's Protestant burghers had little enthusiasm for their Catholic overlord, and the billon quality of small-denomination output from these years reflects chronic silver shortages across the Baltic.
The 1½ grossus denomination itself was a short-lived experiment in the Polish monetary system, introduced to bridge awkward gaps in everyday transaction values.