Utrecht 1617 1/2 daalder
This specimen was lot 530 in Schulman auction 379 (Amsterdam, June 2024), where it sold for €400 (about US$514 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"UTRECHT Provincie 1581 - 1795. 1/2 Leeuwendaalder. 1617, Silver Type IIa. Ridder naar rechts achter wapenschild met ongekroonde leeuw met kruis op de borst stadsschild MO˙ ARG˙ PRO: CON - FOE. BELG. TRA. Kz. klimmende leeuw, daarboven jaartal. RR. Zeer zeldzaam Slagbarstje. Fraai +. (province of Utrecht, silver half lion daalder of 1617, type IIa. Obverse: knight facing right behind the provincial arms; reverse: lion rampant, date above. Very rare, planchet crack, fine or better.)"
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. This subtype was struck 1606-10, 1613-18, 1626-29, 1633-50. Many dates are doubtless rarer than the catalog indicates.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.84 g, 0.750 fine silver, this specimen 10.51 g.
Catalog reference: Delm-878; V. 107.5, KM 12.
- 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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