Utrecht 1599 1/2 daalder
This specimen was lot 528 in Schulman auction 379 (Amsterdam, June 2024), where it sold for €320 (about US$411 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"UTRECHT Provincie 1581 - 1795. 1/2 Leeuwendaalder. 1599 over 1597, Silver Type Ib. Geslagen op de Hollandse voet. Ridder naar rechts achter wapenschild met klimmende leeuw met kruis op de borst, tussen jaartal x MOx NOx ORDIx - TRAx VAx HOLx. Kz. klimmende leeuw, mt. roosje in omschrift. RRRR. Van de allerhoogste zeldzaamheid Grijze patina. Zeer fraai. (province of Utrecht, silver half lion daalder of 1599, type Ib, struck on the Dutch standard. Obverse: knight facing right behind the provincial arms divides the date; reverse: lion rampant, rose mintmark. Extremely rare, gray patina, very fine.)"
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. The first date listed in the SCWC is 1606 but halve leeuwendaalders were struck before that. The photo in the SCWC shows a half rijksdaalder, not a half leeuwendaalder.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.84 g, 0.750 fine silver, this specimen 12.69 g.
Catalog reference: Delm-877; V.–, KM 12 (unlisted date).
- 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.
- [1]Absil, Eddy, Florentine van Hees, Tim Poelman, Catelijne van den Bosch, Evert Philippeau, Andrew Absil, Schulman sale 379, Amsterdam: Schulman b.v., 2024.
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