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20 Dukat - Wolter von Plettenberg Wenden
| Issuer | Livonian Order |
|---|---|
| Year | 1525 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Ducats (6480) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | MONE · NOVA · MAGRI : LIVON - I : (Translation: Moneta Nova Magistri Livoniae New coin of the Master of Livonia) |
| Reverse description | Standing crowned figure of the Virgin Mary facing, robed and nimbed, holding the Christ Child on her left arm; rays of glory emanate from the figures in a mandorla-like arrangement. The composition is set within a beaded inner circle and enclosed by a circular Latin legend in uncial characters. The iconography follows the traditional Marian devotional type widely used on Livonian coinage of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Wolter von Plettenberg was the greatest military commander the Livonian Order ever produced, having decisively defeated Ivan III of Moscow at the Battle of Smolina in 1502 — a victory that secured the Order's eastern frontier for a generation. This multiple dukat was struck in 1525 at the Wenden mint, the Order's administrative capital, likely as a presentation piece rather than circulating currency. At twenty ducats' weight, it functioned as a diplomatic object or gift, the kind of coin that moved between courts rather than purses.
In 1525, Plettenberg was also navigating the Lutheran Reformation sweeping through Livonia's towns — a pressure he managed with deliberate neutrality, a rare political dexterity for the time.