Livonia (16)51 solidus
This specimen was lot 11041 in Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Copenhagen, June 2026), where it sold for €69 (about US$80). The catalog description[1] noted, "SWEDEN. Swedish Livonia. Riga. Solidus, 1651. Riga Mint. Kristina. NGC AU-53. Nice example with a deep toning and some luster on the obverse. From the L.E. Bruun Collection." This type was struck 1645-54, all with two digit dates. Struck on roller dies, many of these have off-center reverses. The reverse legend, "SOLIDVS · LIVONIÆ", confirms this as a provincial issue rather than a municipal issue specifically for Riga (for which, see KM 21). Riga and Livonia were seized by Sweden from Poland in 1621 and retained by them until their loss to Russia in 1721.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.51 g, billon, 15 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-2; SB-70b; Bruun-12056.
- Bjorne Ahlström, Yngve Almer and Bengt Hemmingson, Sveriges Mynt, 1521-1977, the Coinage of Sweden. Stockholm: Numismatika Bokförlaget AB, 1976.
- Delzanno, Roberto, Myntårsboken 2022, Sveriges Mynt 995-2021, 1:a upplagen, Stockholm, 2021.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction - Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, the Richard Margolis Collection and the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Reales Minors, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2026.
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