4 Mark Dansk 'Rytterkrone' - Frederik IV Type 1

Frederik IV struck this type in the thick of the Great Northern War, a conflict that had already consumed Denmark's treasury for over a decade by 1711. The crown's finances were under such strain that the silver content of large denomination coins was repeatedly adjusted downward — the .671 fineness here reflects one of those deliberate debasements, lower than the earlier Rytterkrone issues under his father Christian V.

The 'Rytterkrone' name derives from the equestrian design, a format with roots in the Danish coinage of the 1670s. By Frederik IV's reign it had become a politically loaded choice, projecting martial authority at a moment when Charles XII of Sweden was still very much a threat.