Northern Europe, Sweden, ca. 1723 CE. A copper cast plate minted by King Frederick I of Sweden. A crown above FRS 1729 is stamped on each corner, FRS indicating Fredericus Rex Sueciae. The denomination is stamped in the center 1/2 DALER SILF: MYNT with two crossed arrows below. Silf mynt translates to silver coin, indicating that these copper sheets were equivalent a certain silver value. The verso is free of stamps and blank. This plate was a form of currency in Sweden and platmynt daler translates to "plate dollar." Sweden created huge copper plates as currency due to a silver shortage; unfortunately copper coin did not hold as much value as silver resulting in large plates, this half daler is the smallest denomination of the plates minted. Most platmynts were melted down and repurposed over the years, making these original plates quite rare! See below on why this one survived intact. Size: 3.75" L x 3.25" W (9.5 cm x 8.3 cm); total weight: 345.2 grams
This half daler is heavy despite being the smallest denomination of copper, and the inconvenience of carrying these plates led to the creation pf paper bank notes that could be exchanged. Consequently the need and value of the copper plates fell and most were melted down. In the 1780's, Sweden began exporting these copper plates to trade with colony countries. In 1783, the Danish ship, Nicobar, was sailing to India with a cargo consisting of Swedish platmynts, but a storm wrecked the ship off the coast of South Africa. The wreck was discovered in 1987, and this plate was finally recovered after spending nearly two hundred years at the bottom of the ocean.
Provenance: ex- estate of Eldert Bontekoe, Pegasi Numismatics, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA acquired before 2000
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#159406
Condition
Center stamp is bold. Nicks, chips, and losses to peripheries. Softening of corner stamp details and surface pitting.