2 Skilling Dansk - Christian IV

Christian IV's reign produced an enormous volume of small silver coinage, much of it to fund the disastrous Low German Phase of the Thirty Years' War, which had ended with Denmark's humiliating withdrawal via the Treaty of Lübeck in 1629. These skilling pieces came immediately after that defeat, struck as the treasury scrambled to rebuild depleted reserves. The specification — nearly 86% silver at barely half a gram — reflects a deliberate policy of maintaining fineness while reducing weight, a compromise between monetary credibility and fiscal pressure.