1 Daalder 4 stamps, octagonal

This piece belongs to one of the most desperate chapters in Dutch monetary history. In 1572, Haarlem was under siege by Spanish forces loyal to the Duke of Alba — a siege that would last seven months and reduce the city to starvation before its fall in July 1573. Emergency coinage of this type was authorized by the city to pay its garrison and maintain some semblance of economic function within the walls. The octagonal form results from cutting and countermarking existing silver plate or foreign coin stock rather than striking from prepared blanks.

The four-stamp application is the authentication mechanism: each strike confirmed municipal authorization in the absence of a functioning mint infrastructure.