Brabant 1585(h) ecu Dav-8637
This specimen was lot 849 in Jean Elsen sale 164 (Brussels, March 2026), where it sold for €850 (about US$1,183 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Philippe II, restauré (1585-1598), AR écu Philippe, 1585, Anvers. Avec les armes de Portugal. D/ B. cuir. à g. R/ Écu couronné avec écusson de Portugal sur le tout, sur une croix de Bourgogne, entre deux briquets, portant le bijou de la Toison d'or. Extrêmement rare. Légère double frappe au droit. Traces d'emporte-pièce sur la tranche. Très Beau. Habile diplomate et chef de guerre, Alexandre Farnèse parvint à exploiter les dissensions des révoltés pour traiter avec les provinces catholiques puis pour reconquérir le Brabant et la Flandre. La prise d'Anvers marqua le complet rétablissement de l'autorité espagnole dans les Pays-Bas méridionaux. Seule la ville d'Ostende refusa de se soumettre. Le duc de Parme ordonna aussitôt de reprendre à Anvers l'émission du numéraire de Philippe II, principalement l'écu Philippe et ses subdivisions. (duchy of Brabant, Philip II, 1555-98, silver écu Philippe of 1585, Antwerp mint, with the arms of Portugal. Obverse: armored bust right; reverse: crowned arms with the escutcheon of Portugal over a Burgundian cross, between two firesteels supporting the jewels of the Golden Fleece. Extremely rare. Slightly doubled on the obverse, Traces of a punch mark on the edge. Very Fine. A skilled diplomat and military commander, Alexander Farnese succeeded in exploiting the dissensions among the rebels to negotiate with the Catholic provinces, and subsequently to reconquer Brabant and Flanders. The capture of Antwerp marked the complete restoration of Spanish authority in the Southern Netherlands. Only the city of Ostend refused to submit. The Duke of Parma immediately ordered the resumption—in Antwerp—of the coinage of Philip II, primarily the écu Philippe and its subdivisions.)"
By 1586, the revolt of the southern provinces had been crushed. The Spanish rulers, among other things, restored the old écu Philippe and its fractions and struck them to the end of the reign. In 1580, king Philip added Portugal to his domain, so that shield was added to the arms. The Eighty Years War was still in progress, In 1585, the duke of Parma recaptured Antwerp and the Spanish authorities resumed minting there.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 34.28 g, 0.833 fine silver, 43 mm diameter; this specimen 33,89 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-8637, G.H. 210-1h (unlisted date); Delm. 18; W. -; VH 362.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1484-1600, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1977.
- 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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