瑞典西吉斯蒙德银币 NGC AU 58。AAH-1; HCz-4522; Bruun-623; HG-1; Dav-8709. RARE. Beginning in 1587 with the blessings of Stanislaw Karnkowski, the primate of Poland, Sigismund became King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia and also hereditary king of the Swedes, Goths and Wends; the later titles resulting from his fathers claims to the Swedish throne. However it was not until 1594, the year this coin was struck, after having declared Lutheranism as the official religion of Sweden, that Sigismund was crowned King of Sweden. While sharing the same monarch, Poland and Sweden never were politically united, with many in Sweden convinced that Sigismunds ultimate goal was to bring Sweden back into the Catholic fold, much as he did with the Orthodox Church in the Ukraine. That he was allowed to become King of Sweden at all speaks volumes about his power and influence, and while the arrangement lasted but a few short years, it helped define the zenith of Sigismunds reign both within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as the surrounding hinterlands. The Riksdaler offered here hearkens back to this same era, and features as fine a portrait of Sigismund as any that graced coinage within his realm. The facial features are remarkably crisp and clear, with all of the engrailment on the coat of armor and ruffle collar fully formed and razor sharp. The reverse demonstrates the same degree of strike, with the first noticeable attribute being the three crowns of Sweden within the upper left quadrant of the crowned shield. The legends are easily readable with virtually no doubling, and exhibit original luster within the protected areas. And that describes just the technical details of the coin, the more important aspects being the overall look of the piece, with even light silver gray coloration with an abundance of residual luster. All of this as part of a high quality coin stuck on a nearly perfect flan free of the defects typically found on the few other surviving examples. A coin that fits nicely into multiple categories ranging from collections specializing in Poland, the Baltic countries or Sweden, it will be interesting to see if an epic battle ensues to determine which type of collection the coin ultimately enters.NGC AU-58.