Sweden Silver Medal 1718 - Death of King Charles XII at Fredrikshald, 30 November 1718 - Karl XII (1697–1718)

2.81g. 19mm. UNC/UNC. Beautiful specimen with mirror shine luster and old grey patina. 

Delzanno (SKM) 323b (Ag) RR – 6–10 known specimens in private collections; Hildebrand 220. 

Very rare. 

Obv.: King Charles XII standing, resting his command staff against a table on which the royal crown lies. 

Inscription around: 

CAROLVS XII. D. G. SVEC. GOTH. VAND. REX. / OB. XI. DEC. / MDCCXVIII. 

(Charles XII, by the Grace of God King of the Swedes, Goths and Wends / Died 11 December / 1718). 

Rev.: Inscription in ten lines: 

DIS / WAR DER GROSSE / HELD / ZUM KRIEG / UND STREIT / GEBOHREN, / SEIN LEBEN GIENG IM / FELD / DOCH NICHT SEIN / RUHM / VERLOHREN. 

(This was the great / hero / for war / and battle / born; / his life ended in the / field / but not his / fame / lost). 

This medal commemorates the death of King Charles XII during the siege of the Fredriksten fortress near Fredrikshald in Norway on 30 November 1718, a turning point that effectively ended Sweden’s long military dominance in Northern Europe. After years of continuous campaigning throughout the Great Northern War, the king was struck and killed while inspecting forward positions near the fortress works. His body was transported to Sweden and buried in Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm on 26 February 1719. The medal’s imagery reflects both the military character of his reign and the immediate elevation of his death to a symbol of heroic sacrifice, with the bier, regalia, and star-crown representing royal authority, mortality, and the transition to immortal remembrance.