Catalog
1/2 Gulden
| Issuer | Siege of Haarlem (Dutch Republic) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1573 |
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| Reference(s) | HPM#Ha06 , Delmonte S#145, |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely blank, presenting a plain, unworked silver surface with no design, legend, or decorative elements. This is consistent with the hastily produced klippe emergency coinage struck during the Siege of Haarlem in 1573, where expediency precluded the engraving of a reverse die. |
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| Additional information |
Haarlem held out against Spanish forces for seven months before surrendering in July 1573, and the obsidional coinage struck during that siege is among the most historically charged emergency money in Dutch numismatic history. This half gulden was produced from silver plate and church vessels hastily requisitioned by the civic authorities — standard practice for a city that had long since exhausted its treasury feeding a garrison under Alva's blockade.
The capitulation terms proved brutal regardless: Spanish commanders executed much of the surviving garrison. Coins that left Haarlem after the surrender often did so in the pockets of refugees.