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Auction: 323 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 147

Denmark. Knud (Canute) V Magnussen (1146-1152, 1154-1157). Penning. Roskilde. 0.63 gms. Crowned, facing bust of the king, holding sword and globus cruciger, rev. Facing bust of the bishop, holding crozier, six-pointed star in right field. Bruun--, Hbg. 2. Extremely Rare. When Eric III of Denmark abdicated in 1146, Svend Gratha was elected king as Svend III by the magnates in Sjaelland, but their counterparts in Jutland declared for Knud V Magnusson, grandson of King Niels I. For the next several years Denmark was embroiled in a civil war. After the Imperial intervention in 1152 by the newly crowned German king Frederick I, Svend was made "first king" and Knud his "co-regent" receiving a goodly portion of Denmark. But Svend broke the agreement giving Knud only small holdings. Knud bristled. Denmark, meanwhile, tired of Svend's tyranny and his favoritism to the Germans. In 1154, he was overthrown by Knud V and Valdemar den Store, ruler then in Schleswig. Svend fled to Germany. In 1157, he returned with the support of the powerful Saxon Duke Henry the Lion. Faced with this the Danish magnates agreed to a tripartite division of Denmark into Jutland, Sjaelland and Scania. Svend, though, wanted all and schemed to eliminate his rivals. During the peace banquet which would come to be known as the "Bloodfeast of Roskilde", Knud was slain, but Valdemar escaped to Jutland. On the 23rd of October 1157, Svend and his army met Valdermar at the Battle of Grathe Heath. Svend's troops were defeated and he was killed by peasants when his horse became stuck in a bog.. Edge crack with a portion broken off - which does not overly affect the types. Otherwise a sharp strike with bold details. Extremely Fine. Another specimen of this extremely rare coin with less edge damage brought 17,000 Kroner (2,300 Euros) in a May 2, 2013 Rasmussen sale (ex Holger Hede Collection, Rasmussen, Sept. 28, 1991, lot 68).

Estimate
$600 to $800