Philip the Handsome issued this type as part of his effort to consolidate authority across the Burgundian Netherlands, and the Order of the Golden Fleece connection was not decorative politics — Philip was the Order's sovereign, and these coins circulated among the highest levels of the Habsburgdominated court. The piedfort format, struck at double or greater thickness from the same dies as the circulation issue, was never intended for trade. Piedforts of this period were almost certainly presentation pieces, possibly gifts to chapter members or diplomatic contacts.
Philip died in 1506 at age 28, leaving this among the final coinages of his brief rule over Brabant.
Philip the Handsome issued this type as part of his effort to consolidate authority across the Burgundian Netherlands, and the Order of the Golden Fleece connection was not decorative politics — Philip was the Order's sovereign, and these coins circulated among the highest levels of the Habsburgdominated court. The piedfort format, struck at double or greater thickness from the same dies as the circulation issue, was never intended for trade. Piedforts of this period were almost certainly presentation pieces, possibly gifts to chapter members or diplomatic contacts.
Philip died in 1506 at age 28, leaving this among the final coinages of his brief rule over Brabant.