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1/2 Real `1/2 Leicester real` piedfort at double weight, klippe
| Issuer | Province of Gelderland (Dutch Republic) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1587 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Square klippe flan with a beaded inner circle enclosing a right-facing armored bust of a bearded male figure, likely representing Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, wearing a plumed helmet or feathered cap, ruff collar, and elaborately engraved plate armor with pauldrons. The portrait is rendered in high relief in the late Renaissance style. The surrounding legend reads CONCORDIA · RES · PARVÆ · CRESCVNT · GEL · ·, with the abbreviated provincial attribution GEL appearing to the upper left, all contained between the beaded border and the outer edge of the klippe flan. |
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| Mintage | 1587 |
| Additional information |
In 1587, the Province of Gelderland briefly offered sovereignty to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who had arrived in the Netherlands as commander of English forces the previous year and accepted the Governor-Generalship against Elizabeth I's explicit wishes. The resulting diplomatic crisis — she publicly repudiated his acceptance — left Leicester's authority perpetually contested. Coins struck under his name during this period occupy an almost paradoxical space: issued by a legitimate provincial authority, yet tied to a governor England officially disavowed.
This klippe piedfort at double weight was almost certainly a presentation piece rather than a circulation strike. Pieforts of this type served as die trials or gifts to dignitaries, and the square-cut flan confirms it left the mint intentionally distinguished from ordinary coinage. Leicester was recalled in 1587 and finally departed the Netherlands for good in 1588.