Brabant 1589(h) ecu Dav-8637
This specimen was lot 852 in Jean Elsen sale 164 (Brussels, March 2026), where it sold for €360 (about US$501 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Philippe II (1555-1598), AR écu Philippe, 1589, Anvers. 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. Légère faiblesse de frappe. Défauts de flan sur la tranche. Belle patine. Très Beau. (duchy of Brabant, Philip II, 1555-98, silver écu Philippe of 1589, Antwerp mint. 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. Slightly weakly struck, edge defects, nice patina, Very Fine.)"
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 but most of the action in 1589 was in France, where Philip II ordered the duke of Parma to invade to disrupt the accession of Henry IV.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 34.28 g, 0.833 fine silver, 43 mm diameter; this specimen 34,06 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-8637, G.H. 210-1h; Delm. 18; W. 833; 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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