Rare silver shilling, Wilhelm of Brandenburg, Archibishop of Riga (1539-1563), (15)46, Riga, Latvia

GVILELM D G AR EP RI 46 (for "1546"), Brandenburg heraldic eagle  / Coat of arms of the archbishop, TVA ESTPOTENCIA TV RE. 18.5mm, 0.89 grams. Riga mint. Fyodorov 376.

Wilhelm von Brandenburg (30 June 1498 - 4 February 1563) was the Archbishop of Riga from 1539 to 1561. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Wilhelm was the son of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the brother of Albert, Duke of Prussia, and the grandson of Albert III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg and Casimir IV Jagiellon. After William's administration as Prince-bishop ended during the Livonian War, Riga became a Free City (1561-1581).