Gelderland (1560-61) real d'or Fr-74
This specimen was lot 1905 in Jean Elsen sale 149 (Brussels, December 2021), where it sold for €3,200 (about US$4,334 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"NEDERLAND, GELDERLAND, Hertogdom, Philips II (1555-1592), AV gouden reaal, z.j. (1560-1561), Nijmegen. Zonder titel van koning van Engeland. Vz/ Gekroond bb. r. Kz/ Gekroond wapenschild met keten van het Gulden Vlies. Zeer zeldzaam Stempelbreuk op vz. en krasje aan de rand. Zeer Fraai à Prachtig. (Netherlands, duchy of Gelderland, Philip II, 1555-92, undated golden real, circa 1560-61, Nijmegen mint, without the title of king of England. Obverse: crowned bust right; reverse: crowned arms, Order of the Golden Fleece around. Very scarce, die break on the obverse, small edge clip, very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
Gelderland, originally part of the Burgundian inheritance, fell to the Hapsburgs on the death of the last duke of Burgundy in 1477. On the emperor Charles's abdication in 1555, the Hapsburg inheritance was divided between the Austrian and Spanish branches, and the Netherlands passed to Philip II, a dour and unbending Catholic. His attempts to extirpate heresy caused the northern provinces to rise in revolt and, after many years of struggle, secure their independence as the United Provinces. The southern provinces, including Brabant, remained Catholic and loyal to king Philip. The type is known with and without "ANG REX" in the obverse legend, marking the king's brief marriage to Mary of England. Half golden reals (Fr-76 and -77) also exist.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold.
Catalog reference: G.H. 206-6b; Delm-626; V.H. 261.
- Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- van der Wis, Jan, and Tom Passon, Catalogus van de Nederlandse Munten geslagen sind bet aantreden van Philips II tot aan het einde van de Bataafse Republiek (1555-1806), 2nd ed., Apeldoorn, Netherlands: Omni-Trading b.v., 2009.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 149: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
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