1 solidus, Riga, Gustav II Adolf, 1628
When Riga was captured in 1621, the Swedes demanded that the coins be minted with the name and picture of the Swedish king and according to the Swedish monetary standard. The monetary standard indicates the metal in which the country’s main coin would be minted, in this case silver. Even so, coins continued to be produced in the Polish coinage style as trade conditions in the area required this.
The lowest denomination schilling, solidus, shows the initials of King Gustav II Adolf, “G II A”, and Riga’s small coat of arms. The coins were minted in rolling mills, where a metal die is drawn between two cylinders, with one cylinder embossing the obverse design and the other embossing the reverse design. After that, the strip is cut into the number of coins minted. This can be seen clearly on the coin you see here.
The silver content of the schillings was so low that imported Swedish copper coins were used instead in the 1620s.
