Brabant 1483 2 briquet
This specimen was lot 760 in Jean Elsen sale 164 (Brussels, March 2026), where it sold for €160 (about US$223 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Philippe le Beau (1482-1506), AR double briquet, 1483, Anvers. D/ Deux lions assis et affrontés. Entre leurs t., un briquet. R/ Écu d'Autriche-Bourgogne sur une croix fleuronnée. Rare. presque Très Beau. (duchy of Brabant, Philip the Fair, 1482-1506, silver double briquet of 1483, Antwerp mint. Obverse: two seated lions facing each other, between them a firesteel; reverse: arms of Austria-Burgundy over a Burgundian cross. Rare, about Very Fine.)"
This coin is named for the firesteel posed between the two lions, which firesteel later became the badge of Philip II of Spain. Philip the Fair succeeded to the duchy of Burgundy, which included Brabant, in 1482, on the death of his mother. His father, Maximilian, ruled as regent until his marriage in 1496. He attempted to claim the throne of Spain on the death of Isabella of Castile, his mother-in-law, but was thwarted by Ferdinand of Aragon. Philip died in 1506 without ever becoming king of Spain or Holy Roman Emperor, titles held by his son, Charles V. This type, struck 1482-85, lacks the hand mintmark for Antwerp.
Recorded mintage: 932,910.
Specification: 3.06 g, 0.799 fine silver, 27 mm diameter; this specimen 2,52 g.
Catalog reference: G.H. 52-1b; W. 541; VH 70; Levinson II-68a.
- Levinson, Robert, The Early Dated Coins of Europe, 1234-1500: An Illustrated Catalogue and Guide to dated medieval coinage. Clifton, NJ: Coin & Currency Institute, 2007.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- 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 164: Monnaies du duché de Brabant et du royaume de Belgique, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2026.
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