Gelderland 1589 1/2 daalder
This specimen was lot 216 in Schulman auction 385 (Amsterdam, July 2025), where it sold for €1,000 (about US$1,415 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"GELDERLAND Provincie 1581 - 1795. 1/2 Leeuwendaalder, 1589, Silver Type I, geslagen op de Hollandse voet. Ridder naar rechts achter Hollands wapenschild tussen jaartal MO. NO.ORDI. - .GEL. VA. HOL.. Kz. klimmende leeuw, daarboven mt. RRR. Uiterst zeldzaam. Uitzonderlijk hoge kwaliteit. FDC. (province of Gelderland, 1581-1795, half lion daalder of 1589, type I, struck to the Dutch standard. Obverse: a knight supports the Dutch arms which divide the date; reverse: lion rampant. Extremely rare, unusually nice, uncirculated.)"
The leeuwendaalder and its half are famous in the numismatic world as being some of the worst struck coins in history. Most of the provinces and several of the cities struck them from the 1570's until the end of the seventeenth century. This type was struck 1589, 1593, 1597-99, 1602 and undated.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.84 g, 0.750 fine silver, this specimen 13.47 g.
Catalog reference: KM 9, Delm. 868; V. –; de V. – (see p. 26 under no. 109).
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]Absil, Andrew, Olle Cederholm, Erik de Visser and Rik van Noorloos, Schulman sale 385, Amsterdam: Schulman b.v., 2025.
Links to: