Sweden 1608 1/2 mark
This specimen was lot 11026 in Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Copenhagen, June 2026), where it sold for €268.40 (about US$310). The catalog description[1] noted, "SWEDEN. 4 Öre, 1608. Stockholm Mint. Karl IX. NGC EF Details--Bent. Rare date. Planchet flaws and partial weak strike on the obverse. Bent and straightened. From the L.E. Bruun Collection." In 1599, Karl ousted his Catholic nephew Sigismund and made himself lord protector of Sweden. In 1604, Karl claimed the throne for himself as Karl IX. This type was struck 1607-09 and is listed in Numista as a half mark. As that is what is stamped on the coin, that is how we will list it. The weight given in the SCWC, 4.84 g, is not correct. One riksdaler was 48 öre or six mark.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.26 g, 0.625 fine silver, 24-25 mm diameter, this specimen 2.19 g.
Catalog reference: KM-21 (listed as 4 öre); SM-67; Delzanno-66; Bruun-11716.
- Bjorne Ahlstrom, Yngve Almer and Bengt Hemmingson, Sveriges Mynt, 1521-1977, the Coinage of Sweden. Stockholm: Numismatika Bokforlaget AB, 1976.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Delzanno, Roberto, Myntårsboken 2022, Sveriges Mynt 995-2021, 1:a upplagen, Stockholm, 2021.
- [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.
Links to: