It’s been some three years since Numiscollect added to their History of the Crusades series of silver coins, but we’ve finally got a new issue, the fourteenth since it debuted in 2009. Each coin has depicted a scene from a specific crusade, the first ten focusing on what we consider the traditional campaigns, and the last four, including this one, turning their attention to the less well-known Northern Crusades in the Baltic area.

The 2026 coin features the First Swedish Crusade against Finland by King Erik IX, ironically a campaign that may not ever have happened, given the earliest accounts were recorded about 150 years after the supposed date. The coin itself continues the style of earlier releases, with the figure of the protagonist, in this case Erik, in the foreground, with a melee combat scene in the background. It’s all quite chaotic, and a fine encapsulation of medieval combat.

The coin issuer has changed from Cook Islands to Niue, so that Pacific islands Public Seal sits in the prescribed space. For the first time, the issue date has moved to this face. They’ve taken the opportunity to enhance it as well. While the basic layout remains as before, the silhouette of soldiers and knights is considerably more detailed than before – a major upgrade, in my view. A great release in an excellent series. See the whole range in our Coin Series Profile, which I’ve just spent hours completely refreshing to our latest, more modern look.