Flanders 1565 1/5 ecu
This specimen was lot 1051 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €220 (about US$282 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"VLAANDEREN, Graafschap, Philips II (1555-1598), AR vijfde Philipsdaalder, 1565, Brugge. Vz/ Geharnast bb. r. Kz/ Gekroond wapenschild op een Bourgondisch kruis tussen twee vuurijzers. Zeldzaam. Met lelie achter jaartal. Mooie patina. bijna Prachtig. (county of Flanders, Philip II, 1555-98, silver fifth daalder of 1565, Bruges mint. Obverse: armored bust right; reverse: crowned arms over a Burgundian cross between two firesteels. Scarce, with lily after the date, nice patina, about Extremely Fine.)"
The Netherlands, which then comprised all of the Low Countries, fell to the king of Spain on the extinction of the Burgundian dukes in 1477. The northern provinces converted to Lutheranism and later Calvinism during the Reformation but the southern provinces (today Belgium) remained Catholic. Hence, when the northern provinces revolted against king Philip, the southern provinces remained loyal and served as the base for Spanish attacks on the north. The Spanish were unable to conquer the rebels and were eventually forced to recognize their independence in 1648. The Spanish Netherlands passed to Austria upon the extinction of the Spanish Hapsburgs in 1700. This is from an early experiment with decimal coinage.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen is 6,74 g.
Catalog reference: G.H. 212-7a; V.H. 271.
- 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 156, Collection de Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2023.
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