1000 Shillings

When Gustav II Adolf and his troops began to conquer parts of Livonia at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War and successfully took Riga in 1621, no one knew if the Swedes would stay or if Poland would retake the land. However, the Swedes remained in control for over 90 years, until 1710, when Russia took over. During this time, Livonia experienced many events that shaped the country, including the prosperous times under Queen Christina, the shilling catastrophe caused by incredibly large quantities of counterfeit copper shillings from Wallachia and the repeated outbreaks of plague. These events had a significant impact on the small circulating coins of the region. "1000 Shillings Vol. 1" provides a detailed examination of the incredible variety of shillings and farthings (dreipölker) that were used in Livonia during this time. The book also considers the equivalent coins from Swedish-occupied Elbing and the associated shilling counterfeits. It takes a top-down approach, starting with the material-specific features of the coins and then moving on to the manufacturing and minting processes. The coins are identified down to the level of individual dies. The applicability of the book contents to coins from other regions and times is emphasized. As results of this study, a number of previously undescribed coin varieties have been identified and observations resulting from the comparison of the coins are combined with historical events. Additionally, a new method for estimating the quantities of coins produced at the time and a new, universally applicable structuring system for coins are introduced. The findings are supported by a large number of detailed photos and illustrations. The separate catalogue "1000 Shillings Vol. 2" supplements this volume by presenting the entire database with more than 1400 coins and summarises the results for each coin in tabular form with photos.