Breda 1625 20 stuiver
This specimen was lot 1103 in Jean Elsen sale 147 (Brussels, June 2021), where it sold for €440 (about US$643 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BREDA, belegerd door de Spanjaarden (juli 1624 - 5 juli 1625), AR 20 stuiver, emissie januari 1625. Vz/ Stadswapen, daarboven waardeaanduiding 20, daaronder roosje. Zeldzaam. Zeer Fraai à Prachtig. (city of Breda, besieged by the Spanish (July 1624-July 1625), silver 20 stuivers, minted January 1625. Obverse: city arms, value above, rosette below. Rare, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
As a key stronghold on the border between Brabant and Holland, Breda was heavily involved in the Eighty Years War between the Dutch and the Spanish. Held by the Dutch, it was captured by the Spanish in 1581, retaken by the Dutch in 1590, besieged and captured by the Spanish in 1624-25 (resulting in the uniface siege coinage shown here) and retaken by the Dutch in 1637. The Spanish formally ceded it by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, and it was part of the United Provinces until the arrival of French Revolutionary armies in 1792.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 5,17 g.
Catalog reference: W. 1045; Delm-323; van Gelder 230a; V.H. 679.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Korchnak, Lawrence C., Siege Coins of the World, 1453-1902, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, 2021.
- 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.
- Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 147: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
Links to:
- Breda 1625 2 stuiver siege coinage
- Breda 1625 40 stuiver siege coinage
- Breda 1625 60 stuiver siege coinage
- Brabant 1626 liard KM-63 struck for Breda
- Coins and currency dated 1625