Leiden 1573 oord
This specimen was lot 1231 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €320 (about US$444 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"NEDERLAND, LEIDEN, belegerd door de Spanjaarden (21 augustus 1573 - 3 oktober 1574), Cu kwart stuiver, emissie 13 november 1573. Vz/ Stadswapen onder jaartal. Kz/ Gekroond rad van Sint Catharina. Deels zwak. (Netherlands, city of Leiden, besieged by the Spanish August 21, 1573 to October 3, 1574, copper quarter stuiver of November 13, 1573. Obverse: city arms under the date; reverse: crowned St. Catherine's wheel. Weakly struck, Very Fine.)"
The obverse legend, "+ · GEDENCT × DEN × ARMEN ·", only partly struck up on this example, means, "Remember the poor." Numista states this is not properly a siege coin as permission for its issue was granted before the siege started, St. Catherine being the name of the poorhouse. Wikipedia comments, "The siege of Leiden occurred during the Eighty Years' War in 1573 and 1574, when the Spanish under Francisco de Valdez attempted to capture the rebellious city of Leiden, South Holland, the Netherlands. The siege failed when the city was successfully relieved in October 1574."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, this specimen 1,08 g.
Catalog reference: van Gelder 50a; CNM 2.32.1.
- 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.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
Link to:
- Haarlem 1572 32 stuivers siege coinage
- Leiden 1574 1/4 gulden siege coinage
- Leiden 1574 28 stuivers siege coinage
- Middelburg 1574 36 stuivers siege coinage
- Coins and currency dated 1573