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½ Silver Real - Albert and Isabella
| Issuer | Spanish Netherlands (Lordship of Tournai, Belgian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1607-1611 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2½ Patards = Stoter (Stuivers) (⅛) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A crowned Burgundian firesteel (briquet) occupies the central field, rendered in bold relief with characteristic scrolled volutes to either side; from it depends the jewel of the Order of the Golden Fleece on its chain. The surrounding Latin legend in Roman capitals reads ARCH AVST DVCES BVRG ET DOM TOR, identifying Albert and Isabella as Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy, and Lords of Tournai, enclosed within a beaded border. |
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| Mint | Tournai, Belgium (625-1709) |
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| Additional information |
Albert of Austria and Isabella Clara Eugenia received the Spanish Netherlands as a sovereign gift from Philip II in 1598, the so-called "transfer" designed to give the provinces a nominally independent ruler while keeping them within the Habsburg orbit. Tournai's mint operated intermittently under this arrangement, producing fractional silver for local trade circulation at a moment when the southern provinces were slowly being prised back from the Dutch revolt.
The billon composition — barely a third silver — reflects the chronic shortage of fine metal plaguing Habsburg mints across the Netherlands during this period, a problem compounded by war finance demands and irregular bullion supply from Iberia.