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SWEDEN, Plate Money. Karl X Gustav. 1654–1660. CU 8 Daler SM Plate (62.2x30cm, 14.36 kg). Avesta mint. Dated 1659. Center stamp: (lis) 8 (lis)/ DALER/ Sölf : Mnt/ (coat-of-arms flanked by stars). Four stamps in corners: (lis) CAROLUS · GUSTAVUS · X · D : G : REX : SVEC : around crown; below, 1659 with three lis around. Tingström, Plate p. 254, stamps B/4; AAH 45; KM PM 13. A highly impressive example of this colossus of the world series. Warm brown surfaces. EF. Extremely rare.
From the DMS Collection, purchased from Jonathan Kern.
At over sixty centimetres in length and weighing an astonishing 14.36 kilograms, this iconic rarity is one of the largest coins ever issued for circulation. Despite its mammoth size, the 8 Daler piece had only a relatively small purchasing power. According to the note on the 8 Daler in the collection of the British Museum, the coin was worth only about two kegs of rye.
Tingström (p. 223) recorded 24 specimens of the 1659 8 Daler plate. Only about ninety examples of all dates are known, with perhaps just 10 to 20 in private collections. The majority of 8 Dalers in private and museum collections were uncovered in 1902 in Riga, Latvia, when the harbor was dredged and, unlike our specimen, have varying degrees of porosity. With only a single example of the famous 10 Daler in private hands, the 1659 8 Daler represents the largest collectible plate money denomination.
The earliest example in the United States appears to have been owned by H.O. Granberg, who exhibited the piece at the 1911 ANA Convention (Adams, “The Exhibits at the Convention,” in The Numismatist vol 29, no. 9 [September 1911], p. 327) and the Panama-Pacific Exhibition in 1916 (“Numismatics at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition,” in Mehl’s Numismatic Monthly vol. 7, no. 4, [April 1916], p. 52). Granberg’s U.S. coins were sold by B. Max Mehl between 1914 and 1919, while the remainder of his collection was sold privately to various dealers. This example could not be traced further.
As of 1918, there were only three examples of the massive coin in the United States: the ANS specimen, one in the collection of Virgil Brand, and one in the collection of Oscar Engstrom. (J. de Lagerberg, “Copper and Cannon Plate Coins Struck in Sweden,” in The Numismatist [April 1918]). The ANS specimen was donated by Emerson McMillin in 1914, while Engstrom’s was offered by B. Max Mehl (23 November 1920, lot 198). Over the next few decades, only one example seems to appear in the American numismatic hobby, that of Ragnar L. Cederlund, who exhibited the piece in 1932 and again in 1944. Also in the 1940s, H. Green of Chicago offered two examples from the Brand Collection, though it is unclear whether this is Armin or Virgil Brand, presumably the former. (The Numismatist vol. 59, no. 2 [February 1946], p. 172
vol. 60, no. 1 [January 1947], p. 38). Green’s second offering of the piece interestingly uses the McMillan/ANS specimen for an illustration.
Later examples appear in an offering in The Numismatist by William L. Bryan, in a list or sale closing on 15 May 1963 (The Numismatist [May 1963], p. 762, the sale itself could not be traced) and in The Numismatic Scrapbook (vol. 23, 1957).
In the past twenty years only two 8 Dalers have appeared for sale at auction, both in Europe: Kunker 185, 17 March 2011, lot 6001 hammer Euro 180,000 ($252,000) and Myntkomaniet/AB Philea 11, 12 November 2016, lot 80 hammer Euro 177,000 ($192,000).
The final winners of all Triton XXV lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 11-12 January 2022. Triton XXV – Session Four – Early Medieval & Islamic Coinage through Large Lots will be held Wednesday afternoon, 12 January 2022 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 22.50% for all others.
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