Brabant (1576-77)-B 1/2 real d'or Fr-73

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Jean Elsen sale 158, lot 518
Brabant in 1559, from Shepherd's atlas

This specimen was lot 518 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €4,200 (about US$5,462 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRABANT, Duché, Philippe II (1555-1598), AV demi-réal d'or, s.d. (1576-1577), Bruxelles. B dans le champ au droit et lis sous le buste. D/ B. cuir. à d. R/ Ecu couronné. Extrêmement rare. Légère faiblesse de frappe. Très Beau à Superbe. (duchy of Brabant, Philip II, 1555-98, undated half gold real, Brussels mint, "B" in the field of the obverse and a lily under the bust. Obverse: armored bust right; reverse: crowned arms. Extremely rare, slightly weakly struck, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"

L'atelier de Bruxelles fut rouvert en 1576, plus d'un siècle après son abandon en 1437 (il fonctionna de façon éphémère en 1489). La première émission fut frappée avec des coins provenant d'autres ateliers: Bruges pour le demi-réal d'or et Anvers pour l'écu Philippe, dans lesquels le B initial de Bruxelles fut regravé dans le champ du droit, derrière le buste. (The Brussels mint was reopened in 1576, more than a century after its abandonment in 1437 (it operated briefly in 1489). The first issue was struck with dies from other mints: Bruges for the gold half-real and Antwerp for the écu Philippe, in which the initial B of Brussels was re-engraved in the right field, behind the bust.)

Brabant, originally part of the Burgundian inheritance, fell to the Hapsburgs on the death of the last duke of Burgundy in 1477. On the emperor Charles's abdication in 1555, the Hapsburg inheritance was divided between the Austrian and Spanish branches, and the Netherlands passed to Philip II, a dour and unbending Catholic. His attempts to extirpate heresy caused the northern provinces to rise in revolt and, after many years of struggle, secure their independence as the United Provinces. The southern provinces, including Brabant, remained Catholic and loyal to king Philip. This type was struck at Bruges (Fr-213), Antwerp (Fr-68), Maastricht (Fr-69) and Brussels (shown here). The Spanish Hapsburgs ruled Brabant until 1700, fending off repeated attempts by the king of France to annex it. The area is now part of Belgium.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: gold; this specimen 3,48 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-73, G.H. 207-3; Delm-122; W. 705; VH 295.

Source:

  • Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
  • [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 158, Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.

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