Catalog
4 Skilling - Christian III Aarhus Mint
| Issuer | Denmark |
|---|---|
| Year | 1535 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 4 Skilling (1⁄12) |
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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 |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Crowned royal shield bearing the arms of Denmark, centrally positioned and dividing the last two digits of the date (3 and 5) at the left and right sides respectively. The crowned shield is rendered in the simplified heraldic style typical of Danish billon coinage of the period. The circular Latin legend identifying the coin as a new money of the Aarhus mint runs around the periphery, with a trefoil stop at the commencement of the legend. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Christian III struck these coins while the Reformation war was still being decided. He had been elected king by the nobility in 1534 but spent the better part of two years fighting Count Christopher of Oldenburg and the Hanseatic League in what Danes call the Count's Feud — a conflict that also determined whether Denmark would remain Catholic. Aarhus, on the Jutland peninsula, was among the royalist strongholds, and its mint was pressed into service to fund a campaign that wouldn't formally conclude until July 1536.
Billon at this fineness was a practical wartime compromise. The SIEG C3-8.2 variety is specific to the Aarhus issue within a broader family of Christian III 4-skilling types struck across multiple mints simultaneously.