Sweden (1504-12) 1/2 ortug
This specimen was lot 11218 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice Online Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2025), where it sold for €504 (about US$525). The catalog description[1] noted, "SWEDEN. 1/2 Örtug, ND (1504-12). Västerås Mint. Svante Nilsson. NGC EF-45. Variation with 3 dots besides A. From the L. E. Bruun Collection." Svante Nilsson (c. 1460-1512) was a Swedish nobleman and regent of Sweden from 1504 to 1512. He was the father of Sten Sture the Younger (1493–1520), who later served as regent of Sweden during the era of the Kalmar Union. Wikipedia comments,
"Örtug or ortig was a medieval currency unit in Sweden. It was originally minted as a silver coin in 1370 during the reign of king Albert of Sweden. The coin weighed about 1.3 grams and consisted of 81% silver. As time passed, the örtug was debased: during the reign of Eric of Pomerania, the örtug contained 0.88 grams of silver; under Christian I, 0.7 grams; and in 1534 only 0.54 grams of silver. During the reign of Gustav Vasa (1523–1560), the monetary system of Sweden was reformed: an örtug was now subdivided into 12 pennings, not 8 as before, while still valued as one third of an öre."
One mark = 24 örtug.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: billon, this specimen 0.82 g.
Catalog reference: Delzanno-368 cf; Lagerqvist-6b; Bruun-11370.
- Delzanno, Roberto, Myntårsboken 2022, Sveriges Mynt 995-2021, 1:a upplagen, Stockholm, 2021.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancients, World Coins & World Paper Money, David B. Simpson Medals & World Coins Part 1, Selections from the Richard Margolis Collection, and Selections from the L. E. Bruun Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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