Sweden 1666 1/6 ore
This specimen was lot 11054 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. 1/6 Öre, 1666. Avesta Mint. Karl XI. NGC EF Details--Environmental Damage. Variation with a large 'S' and a small 'm'. From the L.E. Bruun Collection." This type was struck in prodigious quantities 1666-86, far in excess of what the economy could absorb. The combination of handmade dies and large production resulted in many varieties and hasty strikes on bad planchets. Numista says the weight was lowered to 6.7 g in 1681.
Karl XI succeeded to the throne in 1660 at the age of four. He was not crowned until 1672, being under the regency of his mother and the Estates. In 1675, he found himself embroiled in war with Denmark which, by firm leadership and good luck, he won. The treaty of Fontainebleau of 1679 ended his last foreign war and he spent the rest of his reign reforming the army and restoring the royal finances. He died of cancer in 1697, aged 41 years.
Recorded mintage: 35,040,000.
Specification: 7.1 g, copper, 25 mm diameter, this specimen 7.45 g.
Catalog reference: KM-254; SM-365b; Delzanno-563; Bruun-12200.
- 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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