Sweden (Estonia / Russia) Silver Medal 1703 - Victories of Karl XII: Narva, Riga, Dünamünde, Warsaw, Cracow, Thorn & Elbing - Karl XII (1697–1718)

36.33g. 44mm. AU/AU. 

Medalier: Georg Hautsch. 

Delzanno (SKM) 124a (Ag); Hildebrand 78. 

Rare. 

Obv.: Half-length facing figure of King Charles XII, turned slightly right, in coat with fur-trimmed collar, holding command staff in his right hand and resting his left on his sword hilt. 

Inscription around: 

CAROLVS · XII · D:G:REX SVECIÆ 

(Charles XII, by the Grace of God King of Sweden). 

Inscription in exergue: 

QVO NON PRÆ:STAN / TIOR ARMIS 

(Than whom none is more excellent in arms). 

Rev.: Crossed sword and palm branch passing through three royal crowns; around and beside them six oval shields with names of captured places and dates; in the center, names of the defeated enemies. 

Inscription around: 

TESTES VIRTUTIS ET PRUDENTIÆ, 

(Witnesses of courage and prudence). 

Inscriptions on shields: 

NARVA / 1700:20:9br 

(Narva / 20 November 1700) 

RIGA / 1701:9 Jul 

(Riga / 9 July 1701) 

DÜNAM: / 1701:11:xb 

(Dünamünde / 11 December 1701) 

VARSOV: / 1702:23 May 

(Warsaw / 23 May 1702) 

CRACOV: / 1702:29 IUN 

(Cracow / 29 June 1702) 

THORVM / 1703:14:8br 

(Thorn / 14 October 1703) 

ELBING / 1703:11:Xbr 

(Elbing / 11 December 1703) 

Central inscriptions: 

MOSC: POLO: 

(Muscovites; Poles). 

This medal commemorates the victories won by Charles XII between 1700 and 1703 in the opening phase of the Great Northern War. During these years Sweden fought primarily against Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian sphere of conflict, and the campaign brought a series of major Swedish successes that quickly established the young king’s reputation as one of Europe’s most formidable military rulers. The places named on the medal refer to Narva, now in Estonia; Riga, now in Latvia; Dünamünde, also in present-day Latvia; Warsaw and Cracow, in modern Poland; and Thorn, present-day Toruń in Poland. Together, these victories marked the high point of Sweden’s military power at the beginning of the 18th century.

The early triumph at Narva in 1700, won against a much larger Russian army, became one of the most celebrated Swedish victories of the entire war. The subsequent operations around Riga and Dünamünde secured Sweden’s position in the eastern Baltic, while the advance into the Polish-Lithuanian theatre brought the capture of Warsaw, Cracow, and Thorn. These campaigns demonstrated not only Charles XII’s aggressiveness in the field, but also the strategic reach of the Swedish Empire across the Baltic world, from present-day Sweden and Finland to territories that now belong to Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Russia. At this stage of the conflict, Sweden still appeared capable of maintaining its status as the dominant power in Northern Europe, and medals such as this were intended to present the king’s victories as proof of both military valor and princely wisdom.