1/2 Gulden

West Friesland was one of the seven sovereign provinces of the Dutch Republic and jealously guarded its minting rights well into the eighteenth century, producing gold coinage independently of the States-General's centralizing pressure. This half gulden belongs to a series struck across a twelve-year window during which the province's mint at Hoorn operated under periodic scrutiny for weight inconsistencies — a recurring complaint lodged by Amsterdam merchants who distrusted provincial gold.

Delmonte's attribution separates this type from the earlier KM#150 on fineness grounds, the .986 standard being a fractional adjustment that distinguishes a discrete production run rather than a simple continuation.