Tournai 1602 1/2 florin

Jean Elsen sale 153, lot 1290

This specimen was lot 1290 in Jean Elsen sale 153 (Brussels, December 2022), where it sold for €110 (about US$139 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"TOURNAI, Seigneurie, Albert et Isabelle (1598-1621), AR demi-florin (10 sols), 1602. Sans la tour au droit. D/ B. affrontés des archiducs sous une couronne. R/ Croix de Bourgogne sous une couronne. En dessous, X. DOM· TOR en fin de légende. Beau. (lordship of Tournai, Albert and Isabella, 1598-1621, silver half florin or ten sols of 1602, without tower on the obverse. Obverse:facing busts of the archdukes under a crown; reverse: Burgundian cross under a crown, "X" below, "DOM· TOR" at the end of the legend. Fine.)"

This rare type is listed in the SCWC for 1601-02 and may have been struck in 1600 as well. It was part of the coinage reform of Albert and Isabella which attempted to revive the devastated Spanish Netherlands.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 8.53 g, .667 fine silver; this specimen is 7,66 g.

Catalog reference: KM 3, G.H. 288-7b; Delm. 244; Hoc 375; V.H. 588.

Source:

• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
• 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 153, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2022.

Link to:

• Brabant 1601 demi-florin (10 sols), Antwerp mint
• 1601 double albertin
• 1602 double albertin
• Coins and currency dated 1602