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1 rose ryal, Riga, Kristina, 1632

The coin that you see here shows Queen Kristina with a crown on her head, sitting on the throne of Sweden with a sceptre and an orb. This was probably minted after her coronation in 1650. It is the only time such a coin has ever been struck for a Swedish sovereign.

There is an equivalent coin type in England, which weighs the same as this coin and has a similar motif. The English coins, struck between 1604 and 1619, depict King James I and are known as Rose Ryal coins.

This coin was made in the city of Riga in Livonia, which was captured by King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden in 1621. After that, Riga was in the possession of Sweden until it was taken by Russia in 1710. Livonia consisted of the southern half of present-day Estonia and the northern half of present-day Latvia, as well as the island of Saaremaa.

Image rights: Helena Bonnevier, Ekonomiska museet - Kungliga myntkabinettet/SHM (CC BY 4.0)

Object number: 3118494

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