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1 Joachimstaler - Christian III
| Issuer | Denmark |
|---|---|
| Year | 1537 |
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| Value | 1 Gulden |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crowned half-length effigy of King Christian III facing right, clad in elaborate high armor, holding a sceptre in his right hand. The royal figure is rendered in fine relief within a beaded inner circle. A continuous Latin legend encircles the portrait, and a solid raised ring borders the outer rim. The composition reflects the German taler artistic tradition prevalent in mid-16th-century Scandinavian coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Crowned royal coat of arms divided into five quarters: upper left bearing the arms of Denmark (three passant lions with hearts), upper right the arms of Norway (lion rampant holding a halberd), center the arms of the House of Oldenburg, lower left the arms of Gotland (lion passant above hearts), and lower right the arms of Lauenburg (an eagle displayed facing left). The crown at top breaks the inner beaded ring, and the date 1537 is divided by the shield at either side. A Latin legend surrounds the entire composition, enclosed by a second beaded ring at the rim. |
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| Additional information |
Christian III struck this taler in 1537, the same year he formally established Lutheranism as Denmark's state religion and imprisoned the Catholic bishops who had opposed his seizure of the throne during the Count's War. The Joachimstaler denomination itself takes its name from the Joachimsthal mines in Bohemia, where the large silver coins were first produced in 1519 — the word "dollar" traces directly back to these pieces through centuries of linguistic drift.
Danish taler production in this period drew heavily on silver from the Sound Tolls, the dues levied on every ship passing through the Øresund strait. At their peak those tolls funded a significant share of the Crown's expenditure.