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1640, Sweden, Christina Alexandra. Rare Silver Riksdaler Coin
Mint Year: 1640 Denomination: Riksdaler Reference: Davenport 4523, SM 11, KM-169 Material: Silver (.878) Weight: 28.42gm Diameter: 43mm
Obverse: Standing draped figure of Queen Christina 3/4 right, with right hand on a table beneath cross-topped orb and royal crown. Legend: CHRISTINA D G SVE GOT WAN Q DE REG ET PR HAE
Reverse: Standing togate figure of Jesus Christ as “Salvator Mundi” (Saviour of the World), holding cross-topped orb in left hand and right hand in benediction. Crowned and foliaged triple coat-of-arms in left field. Legend: SALVATOR MUNDI SALVA NOS M DC XL
The House of Vasa (Swedish: Vasaätten, Polish: Waza, Lithuanian: Vazos) was the Royal House of Sweden 1523-1654 and of Poland and Lithuania 1587-1668. In 1611-1613 Duke Charles Philip, Prince of Sweden, was a pretender to Russian throne during Time of Troubles; so was Wladyslaw, the future King of Poland, in 1610-1613 (held a powerless title till 1634). Vasa origined from a noble family in Uppland of which several members had high offices during the 15th century. The name continues to be associated with the Swedish royalty.
Christina (Swedish: Kristina Augusta; 18 December [O.S. 8 December] 1626 – 19 April 1689), later known as Christina Alexandra and sometimes Countess Dohna, was Queen regnant of Sweden from 1632 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and his wife Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. As the heiress presumptive, at the age of six she succeeded her father on the throne of Sweden upon his death at the Battle of Lützen in the Thirty Years' War.
After converting to Catholicism and abdicating her throne, she spent her latter years in France and Rome, where she was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The complex character of Christina has inspired numerous plays, books, and operatic works. August Strindberg’s 1901 play Kristina depicts her as a protean, impulsive creature. “Each one gets the Christina he deserves,” she remarks. The Finnish author Zacharias Topelius' historical allegory Stjärnornas kungabarn also portrays her, like her father, as having a mercurial temperament, quick to anger, quicker to forgive. Kaari Utrio has also portrayed her tormented passions and thirst for love.
Christina’s life was famously fictionalised in the classic feature film Queen Christina from 1933 starring Greta Garbo. This film, while entertaining, had almost nothing to do with the real Christina. Another feature film, The Abdication, starred the Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann, and was based on a play by Ruth Wolff.
Christina has become an icon for the lesbian and feminist communities (and inspired comedian Jade Esteban Estrada to portray her in the solo musical ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World (Vol. 2). Her cross-dressing has also made her a posthumous icon of the modern transgendered community. Finnish author Laura Ruohonen wrote a play about her called “Queen C”, which presents a woman centuries ahead of her time who lives by her own rules. Raised as a boy and known by the nickname “Girl King”, she vexes her contemporaries with unconventional opinions about sexuality and human identity, and ultimately abdicates the throne. First performed at the Finnish National Theatre in 2002, the play has since been translated into nine languages and staged internationally. The play has been performed at the Royal National Theatre in Sweden, as well as in Australia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Germany and USA, and as a stage reading in many other countries.
The Swedish settlement Fort Christina and the Christina River in North America (in present-day Delaware) were named in her honour.