1 Oord / Liard - Philip II

Philip II inherited Flanders as part of the Spanish Netherlands following the abdication of Charles V in 1556, but by the mid-1580s his authority over the northern provinces had effectively collapsed. The southern provinces, Flanders included, were reconquered by Alexander Farnese through a sustained military campaign culminating in the fall of Antwerp in 1585 — the very year this issue begins. Small copper coinage of this type was essential to daily commerce in towns that had endured years of siege, occupation, and economic disruption.

The oord was the Flemish equivalent of the French liard, both names appearing on issues of this period as Farnese worked to stabilize civil administration behind his advancing lines.