A Norway 2 Skilling 1660 with a Spelling Error

The 2 Skillings of the Danish-Norwegian King Frederik III are what we would call “small change.” Weighing slightly more than one gram, their value was limited, and even though the emissions were large they circulated heavily, and finding a Mint State example can be quite a challenge. The L. E. Bruun Collection includes an impressive number of Mint State examples, but today I would like to direct your attention to a VF-25, we are selling in the September 2025 CCO auction of selections from the Bruun Collection.

The Norwegian 1660 2 Skilling doesn’t normally stand out. It’s a common year, it’s a common type, and it looks like any other Norwegian 17^th century 2 Skilling. This particular example, however, does stand out.

On the reverse of the coin the denomination is written in the center. It should say ‘II SKILLING DANSK’ but instead it reads ‘II SKILLING DANSS’.

A rare coin with a spelling error is still a rare coin. A common coin with a spelling error will gain value percentage-wise. So it is with this coin: It goes from being a €50 coin to who knows, maybe double that, maybe much more. Only time, and the auction hammer, will tell.

L. E. Bruun collected die variations, and if there is more than one coin of the same type and the same date in his collection, it means there is a difference in the die worth noting and worth keeping. Certainly, a misspelling of the word DANSK (meaning Danish) is something that should have been spotted by the mintmaster and the coins and dies destroyed, but it wasn’t, and that is our luck – we get to hunt for these mistakes and variations.

September’s CCO auction of selections from the L. E. Bruun Collection is an excellent hunting ground. May I suggest you also direct your scope at the smaller denominations? The large silver coins and Mint State examples are marvelous, no doubt about that, but sometimes great trophies are small and require a keen eye.

Happy hunting come September.