Sweden 1549 1/2 mark
This specimen was lot 11234 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice Online Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2025), where it sold for €1,140 (about US$1,188). The catalog description[1] noted, "SWEDEN. 1/2 Mark, 1549. Svartsjo Mint. Gustav Vasa. NGC AU Details--Cleaned. Test mark on obverse edge at 9 o'clock. Rare date with alluring tone. From the L. E. Bruun Collection." Gustav Vasa permanently separated Sweden from Denmark-Norway and ended the Kalmar Union. His reign is considered the beginning of modern Swedish history. Among other reforms, he made one daler = four mark = 32 öre. This type is listed for 1544-49. The Svartsjo mint operated 1540-50 only.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5.25 g, 0.500 fine silver, 26-30 mm diameter, this specimen 5.91 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB66.2, Delzanno-128; SM-203; Bruun-11489.
- Bjorne Ahlström, Yngve Almer and Bengt Hemmingson, Sveriges Mynt, 1521-1977, the Coinage of Sweden. Stockholm: Numismatika Bokforlaget AB, 1976.
- 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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