Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
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!
40 Mark - Gustav II Adolf
| Issuer | Sweden |
|---|---|
| Year | 1617 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 40 Mark |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Full-length armored effigy of King Gustav II Adolf standing facing, holding an upright sword in his right hand and wearing a crown; the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (Jehovah) appears in radiant glory above the king's head. The figure is depicted in elaborate military dress with detailed armor. A continuous Latin legend encircles the design within the outer border of the coin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A large crowned quartered royal shield bearing the coat of arms of Sweden, centrally positioned within two concentric circles of escutcheons displaying the blazons of the various Swedish dominions and provinces. The individual shields of the dominions are arranged in a repeating decorative border, creating an elaborate heraldic composition that fills the entire reverse field. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Gustav II Adolf was eighteen years old and less than three years into his reign when this piece was struck. Sweden was simultaneously at war with Denmark, Russia, and Poland — the 1617 date places it squarely within the Stolbovo peace negotiations with Russia, which would deliver Sweden control of Ingria and Kexholm, cutting Russia off from the Baltic entirely.
The 40 Mark denomination sits at the top of the Swedish klippe-influenced large silver issues of the period. SM#37 is among the rarer of Gustav's early large silver pieces, with surviving examples showing considerable variation in die alignment — a predictable consequence of hand-hammered production under wartime mint pressures.