1 mark, Stockholm/Gripsholm, Karl IX, 1598
When Sigismund, King of Sweden and Poland, travelled to Poland in 1594, his uncle Karl was given a mandate to govern Sweden in Sigismund’s absence together with the Privy Council, the Parliament. Karl seized the opportunity and made sure he was appointed Governor, i.e. the temporary head of state. The power struggle between Karl and Sigismund accelerated, and in 1598 Sigismund returned with armed troops to retake Sweden.
Karl moved the mintage from Stockholm to Gripsholm Castle in order to safeguard it. This proved to be the strategically correct thing to do, as Sigismund quickly took Stockholm. At Gripsholm, Karl had klippings, square coins in a 1-mark denomination, minted for just over a month in 1598, making this the shortest ever period of minting in Sweden.
)Object number: 108624_KMK
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