In Östra Silvberg, about ten kilometres west of Säteri in the Dalarna region, a silver discovery, and quite significant by Swedish standards at that, was made in the late 1400s. The discovery did not come as a complete surprise – the silver riches of the area were known much earlier, as the name Silvberg “silbergheno” appears in documents as early as 1347, and the earliest known mention is from 1354 in a letter of privilege. However, it is unclear whether these earliest references refer to Östra (East) or Västra (West Silvberg), several kilometres to the west. The oldest definite mention of Östra Silvberg dates back to 1483.

In Östra Silvberg, silver was obtained from a silver-rich lead deposit that also contained gold (about 10–15% of the silver content). This was also known to the people of that era, as contemporary sources mention that the silver ore in question was gold-bearing, “gyldisk”. Silver smelting is said to have taken place in Jönshyttan, where the remains of eleven smelting furnaces have been found, indicating extensive mining activity.

The Swedish Crown was a shareholder in the mine from the beginning, and in the late 1400s, Eskilstuna Monastery also became a shareholder. Next to the silver mine the monastery built a chapel of St Nicholas, probably in the 1400s, which was renovated in the 1500s. However, the mine’s output began to decline and in 1552 the Crown banned the locals from smelting silver for their own use, reflecting its desire to retain exclusive rights to the region’s dwindling wealth. The depletion of silver ore began around 1580, and as a result mining in the area gradually declined. However, the mine was used with varying degrees of success until 1641, when it ceased to operate altogether.

Gripenhielm ducats

After a long period of being forgotten, Östra Silvberg attracted renewed attention in 1695, when Nils Gripenhielm (1653-1706), the governor of Kopparberg County and a metallurgical expert, commissioned surveys of ore remains from old mining waste heaps in the area. He is known to have had an exceptionally extensive coin collection in his day, which explains why Gripenhielm had ducats minted from the gold he extracted from the mining waste in 1696. One side of the coins was engraved with the text (loosely translated into English): “Swedish gold, found in Dalarna and Östra Silvberg in 1695.” The coin’s other side, which shows King Charles XI’s side profile in classical style, differs from all known official ducat portraits. However, it is identical to the portrait on a medal carved by Arvid Karlsteen (1647–1718) in 1696, which was originally made to replace a broken medal. Thus, the ducats were probably minted in 1696, even though the year of minting is given as 1695 on the coin itself.

It is estimated that 100 of these ducats were minted afterwards, but Gripenhielm himself speaks vaguely in letters and reports, in an exaggerating manner, of “numerous pieces”. Based on the known coins, the number of one hundred minted coins seems to be an overestimate.

In 1730, Adolf Adolphsson Christiernin (1701–1771) took over both Östra and Västra Silvberg, having previously spent the years 1726–1729 abroad studying mining, metallurgy and the iron industry. During the trip, he came across what he described as an “ancient” manuscript about a gold-rich ore in the area. He probably referred to Gripenhielm's successful experiment a few decades earlier to separate the gold from the tailings and mint “numerous” ducats.

Christiernin was undoubtedly motivated not only by the example set by Gripenhielm but also by the Ädelfors mine, where in 1737 mine inspector Anton Swab reported having discovered a copper deposit, which on further investigation was also found to contain gold. This attracted much attention in Sweden and quickly led to the creation of a company in which the Crown was a shareholder. In 1741, this culminated in the first gold smelting, from which 64 ducats were minted. The gold from the Ädelfors mine could be used to mint ducats every year, so Christiernin had good reason to believe in the potential of the deposit he was buying.

In 1748, he found a business partner in Fredrik Rothoff (1697–1762), owner of the iron foundry in Carl Gustaf (today called Eskilstuna), which allowed more extensive exploration of the area and the start of mining. In 1751, mining finally began in Östra Silvberg, and the first gold nuggets were extracted from the silver ore mined that year. After this success, Christiernin sent a letter to the King, telling him about his work and asking for permission to mint a commemorative gold coin to mark the reopening of the mine. The permission was granted by King Adolf Fredrik on 23 April 1752. The ducats were minted in Stockholm, and 50 pieces were produced in 1751, although the actual minting did not take place until 1752. The stamp used in the minting was engraved by Daniel Fehrman (1710–1780), and the other side of the coin bears a small rounded imperial coat of arms surrounded by a chain of the Royal Order of the Seraphim as well as the text: “ÖSTRA SILFBERGET I KOPPARBERGS LÄN”.

At the beginning of 1755, Christiernin applied again for permission to mint an additional 150 ducats, to which the monarch again agreed. This time, no new stamps were commissioned for the minting of the coins; the same pair of stamps was used as before. The last number of the year on the back stamp was re-engraved, with the number 1 being engraved as 4. The reason for not engraving the correct year of minting (1755) on the stamp is probably purely practical, as it was easier to change the Roman numeral I on the original stamp to 4 than to 5.

This was the last batch minted, however, as, unfortunately for Christiernin, he had spent his entire fortune searching for the gold deposit, which was never found. In the end, he died penniless. For the next 100 years, Östra Silvberg was mainly used to mine pyrite ore, the smell of which can still be noticed in the area, even though the mine was closed at the end of the 1800s and has since been filled with water.

The Östra Silvberg ducats are part of a desperate period in Swedish history when no stone was left unturned in the search for gold. Gold was mined from Sweden’s own soil, even though it was heavily loss-making. Attempts were also made to produce gold by alchemical means (see Paykull’s ducat) and, for a decade, gold was imported from as far as China via the Swedish East India Company as raw material for ducats, as the country’s own gold reserves were insufficient.

Jani Oravisjärvi