½ Daalder "½ Lion daalder" (De Paule Countermark)

The Dutch Leeuwendaalder flooded Mediterranean trade routes throughout the early seventeenth century, valued by merchants precisely because its silver content was reliable and its weight consistent. The Knights of St. John, perpetually short of circulating silver, countermarked foreign coins rather than striking sufficient native coinage — a practical stopgap that formalized what was already happening in local commerce.

The countermark bearing the name of Grand Master Antoine de Paule dates his administration to 1623–1636. Half-denomination pieces saw heavier commercial use than their full counterparts and survivors with clean countermark strikes are genuinely scarce.