CHRISTINA was an amazing woman.She was born in 1626 and was the

queen of Sweden from 1632 to 1654. Coincollectors are fortunate because a lot ofcoins and medals were issued duringher lifetime.Before the reign of Gustav Vasa (1523-1560) Sweden was ruled by the king ofDenmark as part of the Kalmar Union,which consisted of Denmark, Swedenand Norway. The Kalmar Union wasdissolved in 1523, and under Gustav Vasaand his descendants Sweden becamea great power. Gustav Vasa promotedthe ideas of Martin Luther, and as theReformation took hold, the Lutheran

Swedish Church separated from theRoman Catholic Church. All the proper-ties of the Roman Catholic Church wereconfiscated, which added greatly to thekingdom’s wealth. Today the state Churchis the Evangelical Lutheran Church ofSweden, and about 90 percent of thepopulation belong to it although in recentyears a large number of Muslims havemigrated to Sweden. Gustav Vasa’s son Eric (1560-1568)promoted trade by gaining control ofthe Baltic Sea ports. Sweden was rich iniron, copper and grain, and in 1561 theSwedes negotiated with the nobles inEstonia so that their region would be

under Swedish control. Thus the foun-dation was laid for the Swedish Empire.(Figure 1 – map) Gustav Adolf (Figure 2) became kingin 1611. In 1630 he intervened in theThirty Years War in Europe by landingwith his Swedish army in northern Ger-many. He advanced southward takingFrankfurt, Munich and other major cities,but in 1632 he was killed in a fierce battlethat was actually a victory for Sweden.By the Peace of Westphalia at the end ofthe war in 1648 Sweden gained most ofPomerania in northern Germany as wellas other coastal territories. (See map)Gustav’s only child was Christina (Fig-ure 3) who was five years old when hedied. Until Christina was 18 years old thecountry was ruled by a regency of fivenoblemen, the chief of whom was thechancellor, Axel Oxenstierna (Figure 4).

Christina, Queen of Swedenby Peter E. Lewis

Queen Christina (detail of a riksdaler)

Figure 1 – Map of the Swedish Empire in the 17th century. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 2 – Silver medal issued in 1632 byChristina to honour her father, Gustav Adolph.On the reverse the Hebrew letters at the top ofthe inner circle stand for ‘Jehovah’. (Dr BussoPeus Nachfolger Auction 409, Lot 1515)

He had been the chancellor since 1612.He was a capable and wise administratorand Sweden prospered under his control.In 1644 Christina assumed power asqueen of Sweden. She had a defiant,cheeky streak in her nature, and sheoften did not accept the chancellor’sadvice. She was what Australians wouldcall a larrikin. Perceptive viewers of her

portrait in Figure 3 can see it in herexpression. Although clever she was wil-ful, extravagant and irresponsible withmoney, and Sweden’s economy sufferedduring her reign. From 1633 to 1653 silver riksdalers(state dollars) were issued with Chris-tina’s portrait on the obverse and Jesus

Figure 3 – Portrait of Christina aged 26 by Sébastien Bourdon. (Wikimedia Commons. The painting is in the National Museum of Sweden)

Figure 5 – Riksdaler minted at Stockholm in1647. Diameter 42 mms. (Classical NumismaticGroup, Triton XIV, Lot 1447)

Figure 4 – Axel Oxenstierna on a white-metalmedallion made in 1634. Diameter 42 mms. Onthe reverse the woman holding a mirror repre-sents Prudence. (Fritz Rudolf Künker Auction325, Lot 8141)

Continued overleaf

Christ standing on the reverse. (Figure 5)The Latin legend on the reverse means“Saviour of the world, save us.” Thisreverse had appeared on Swedish dalerssince 1540 and reflected the devoutLutheran faith of Christina’s ancestors.The image of Christ seems strange withhis garments arranged to expose hisabdomen and lower chest, but close in-

spection of a high-grade example showsa wound in his side as well as nail holesin his hands and feet. In the Gospel ofJohn there is a verse (John 19:34) statingthat one of the soldiers present at Jesus’crucifixion “pierced his side with a spear,and at once blood and water came out.” On these coins Christina appears in avariety of poses, and the small head is

shown like a caricature with abnormallylarge eyes. She did have large blue eyesbut she was in fact rather ugly. A morerealistic image appears on the obverseof a 2-mark coin minted in 1650, and itshows her with a large nose, high fore-head, and small chin. (Figure 6) Shelooked mannish and was probably a Les-bian. Veronica Buckley in her excellentbiography, Christina, Queen of Sweden,

Figure 6 – Christina in profile on a 2-mark coin minted in 1650. There is a coat of arms on the reverse. (Stephen Album Rare Coins, Auction 29, Lot 945)

Figure 7 – Head of Christ.(Detail of the reverse of a riksdaler)

Figure 8 – Riksdaler minted at Stockholm in 1646 with a merchant mark on the obverse. (Collection of St John’s Cathedral)

Figure 9 – Merchant mark on the coin in Figure 8.

wrote, “She walked like a man, sat androde like a man, and could eat and swearlike the roughest soldier.” On the riks-dalers Christina’s face is not the onlyunusual one because Christ looks as ifhe is a character in a horror movie.(Figure 7)According to Veronica Buckley, whenChristina was told by deputies from theRiksdag (parliament) that she should

marry she replied, “It is impossible forme to marry. I am absolutely certainabout it. I do not intend to give you rea-sons. My character is simply not suitedto marriage. I have prayed God ferventlythat my inclination might change, but Isimply cannot marry.” Although differ-ent in this way she took a positive atti-tude to life and is to be admired for herstrength of character.

In the collection of St John’s Cathedralin Brisbane there is a riksdaler with asymbol cut into the left field on the ob-verse. (Figures 8 and 9) As this markhad not previously been seen on one ofthese coins, the Swedish NumismaticSociety was consulted. The secretary,Monica Golabiewski Lannby, kindlyexplained that although this particu-lar mark had not been seen before it be-

Figure 10 – Taler minted in Pomerania in 1642. (Teutoburger Münzauktion Auction 103, Lot 4029)

Figure 11 – A ‘wild man’ with the arms of the Holzhausen family, 1589. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 12 – Copper coin worth 1 öre. Diameter47 mms. 8 öre = 1 mark. 1 riksdaler = 6 marks.(Fritz Rudolf Künker Auction 219, Lot 7251)

longed to the group of Merchant Marksalso known as identity marks, personalmarks or ownership marks. She pointedout that Tuve Skånberg had written adoctoral thesis (published in 2003) aboutthese marks. In the English summaryof his paper he said that “this doctoralthesis has by statistical evaluation provedthat these marks are by no means coin-

cidental, but are variations of about80 types, being identified as medievalChristian symbols. The most commonsymbol is the cross and variations of thecross, making up more than half of thereference material.”It is ironic that Christina should ap-pear on a coin with Jesus Christ onthe reverse because she was not at all

religious. She paid lip-service to religionbut her heart was not in it. She was self-centred and incapable of love in theChristian sense of self-giving concernfor others. According to Veronica Buck-ley she declared later in her life thatall of Christianity was “no more than atrick played by the powerful to keep thehumble people down.”Christina’s kingdom included westernPomerania and on the reverse of the dalerminted there a coat of arms is shownbetween two figures. (Figure 10) Thefigures are in flamboyant costumes. Theylook as if they should be in the SydneyGay Mardi Gras, in which Christina nodoubt would have delighted, but they hadappeared previously on coins of northernGermany. They related to a legendarycharacter known as the ‘wild man’ wholived in the forests in northern Ger-many. (Figure 11)During her reign large copper coinsworth 1 öre were minted as they had beenby her father (Figure 12) but in 1644Christina did something completely new.Because Sweden had plenty of copperbut little silver she issued large squareor rectangular copper coins known asPlate Money. The denominations rangedfrom 1 to 10 daler. They were not tokencoins because they were worth theirweight in copper. Although heavy andcumbersome they circulated in Sweden

Figure 13 – A 10-daler coin. The central stamp is the denomination: X DALER Solff:Mnt (10 dollarssilver money). The corner stamps have C above a crown which is between R and S (for ReginaSvecie = Queen of Sweden). Below the crown is the date 1644. (Photocopy of Figure 127 in‘Catalogue of Scandinavian Coins’ by Burton Hobson)

Figure 14 – Silver medallion issued to celebrate the Swedish naval victory in 1644. On the ob-verse Christina receives the homage of the people as Christina Triumphis. Diameter 82 mms.(Fritz Rudolph Künker, Auction 206, Lot 3300)

Figure 15 – Largesse money for the coronation of Karl X Gustav. The coin was worth 2 marks.See ‘Medallic Issues’ on page 1155 of the Standard Catalogue of World Coins (for the 17th

century) by Krause and Mishler. (Myntkompaniet/ AB Philea, Coin Auction 10, Lot 29)

Figure 16 – Silver medallion by Jean Pariseshowing Christina putting the crown on Karl XGustav. Diameter 42 mms. (Baldwin’s Auction51, Lot 1588)

for more than a century. There was around stamp in the centre and stampsin the four corners. The largest (Figure13) was 14 by 24 inches and weighed 20kilograms. It was the largest metal coinever made until 2011 when the PerthMint produced a gold coin 80 cms wideand weighing one tonne. In 1644, the year that Christina tookpower as Queen, there was a great navalbattle near the island of Fehmarn in theBaltic Sea. Known as the Battle of Feh-marn it was a decisive victory for theSwedes over the Danes, and Sweden

became dominant in the region. As thequeen, Christina basked in the glory ofit all, and a very large silver medallionwas struck in celebration. (Figure 14) In 1654 Christina shocked the worldby abdicating in favour of her cousin,who became King Karl X Gustav (1654-1660). It was a drastic thing for her todo, but Christina had decided that shecould no longer live in the austere envi-ronment of Sweden with its long coldwinters. Special silver coins were mintedto be thrown to the people at the coronat-ion (Figure 15) and the legend, CAROLVS

GUSTAVUS REX A DEO ET CHRIS-TINA, means ‘Karl Gustav King by Godand Christina.’ Large silver medallionswere issued showing Christina puttingthe crown on her cousin. (Figure 16)Christina further shocked the worldby announcing that she would convertto Roman Catholicism and live in Rome.The pope, Alexander VII (Figure 17), wasdelighted. According to Veronica Buck-ley, “She was enraptured by the thoughtof Rome, the thought of living there inthe warmth, among the paintings andthe beautiful squares and palazzi. Stock-holm was nothing by comparison; it wasboring, and sterile, and there was no newthinking, no vibrancy, no life.”Christina with a large entourage trav-elled to Rome via Paris, and a bronzemedal minted in 1656 shows her arriv-ing in Paris. She rides side-saddle on alarge horse with the Duke of Guise on ahorse behind her. Magistrates walk be-fore her into the city. (Figure 18) Anotherbronze medal shows her entering Romethrough the Porta Flaminia. (Figure 19)She lived in a palace in Rome for mostof the rest of her life. A portrait of herin 1667 when she was 40 (Figure 20)still shows a far from feminine image.When she died in 1689 her body was en-tombed in St Peter’s Basilica. Accordingto The New Encyclopaedia Britannica

igure 17 – Pope Alexander VII on a bronze medal of 1664. Diameter 42 mms. On the reverse heis being carried in the Corpus Christi Procession. Protestants did not agree with the Catholicteaching that the bread and wine actually changed into the body and blood of Christ (Transub-stantiation). (Baldwin’s Auction 66, Lot 1136)

‘Christina is best remembered for herlavish sponsorship of the arts and herinfluence on European culture.’On a visit to France in 1657 she stayedat the chateaux of Fontainebleau nearParis, and it was there that an event oc-curred that caused people to turn awayfrom her. She ordered that one of her

courtiers, the Marchese Monaldeschi, bekilled because of treachery. The executiontook place in the chateaux and when thegruesome details were revealed Christinawas perceived to be a proud pitilesswoman. Even Veronica Buckley, her bio-grapher writing in 2004, turned away.She said, “When she had the Marchese

Mondaleschi killed I really thought Icouldn’t go any further with her. Butyou have to look at what’s behind it all,imagine yourself into her perspective,and then of course things become verydifferent.” Veronica went on to say, “Iwatched her change from an infuriatingteenager to a dangerous loose cannon,and finally to a whimsical if impossibleold aunt, and I have to admit I grew fondof her in spite of everything.” The presentwriter is not so sympathetic. Christinabelongs in a world that is foreign to ustoday, a world where society revolvedaround kings and queens while most ofthe people lived in poverty. The coins andmedals give us a tangible connection tothat strange world.

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Figure 18 – Bronze medal made by Mauger in 1656 showing Christina arriving in Paris. Diameter 41 mms. Louis XIV is on the obverse. (International Coin Exchange LDT, Auction 3, Lot 2515)

Figure 19 – Bronze medal by Gaspare MoroneMola showing Christina arriving in Rome in1656. Diameter 36 mms. Pope Alexander VII ison the obverse. (Spink Auction 17006, Lot 509)

Figure 20 – Portrait of Christina in 1667 whenshe was 40. It is attributed to Wolfgang Heim-bach. (Wikimedia Commons)

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