40 Mark - Gustav II Adolf

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.