Sweden (1587) 3 riksdaler Dav-LS571
This specimen was lot 1242 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €50,400 (about US$55,853 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Appealing and Minimally Handled Triple Riksdaler, SWEDEN. 3 Riksdaler, ND (1587). Stockholm Mint. Johan III. NGC AU-53. Mintmaster: Gillis (Julius) Coyet the elder. While Double and Single Talers of this impressive type frequently appear in public auctions, the higher denominations such as this 3 Riksdaler are VERY RARE. The elusiveness of the 4 and 3 Riksdalers is underscored by the fact that only one example has traded in the recent past, a 4 Riksdaler that was offered in 2021. The 3 Riksdaler has most likely only been offered once since the magnificent Oldenburg Collection sold in Stockholm in 1889. This example is nothing short of a handsome and pleasing representative, with soft steely gray brilliance and pockets of charming color interluding the gray appeal. An elusive opportunity, and one that should not be taken lightly, given it may be years or decades before another similarly denominated example appears. For completeness we note the original Bruun catalog (in error) has denominated this issue a 4 Riksdaler, though the weight is consistent for that of a 3 Riksdaler. Ex: Countship of Brahesminde Collection (Private Sale - 1922)."
Davenport notes that 6¾, quadruple and double riksdalers were also issued on this occasion. Johan III attempted to bridge the widening gap between the Catholics and the Lutherans, raising his son Sigismund as a Catholic but gradually siding with the Lutherans under the influence of his second queen, Gunilla Bielke (1568-97).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 87.26 g, 0.875 fine silver, 50.8 mm diameter, this specimen 87.26 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-LS571; SM-18(18); Delzanno-4: not in Hagander (attributes the coinage to the Vadstena Mint); Bruun auction-cf. 508; Bruun-11642.
- 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.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1484-1600, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1977.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio, Jeremy Bostwick and Henrik Holt Christensen, The L. E. Bruun Collection - A Corpus of Scandinavian Monetary History Part I, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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