2 Florins 'des Etats' - Philip II

Struck in the turbulent opening years of the Dutch Revolt, this issue dates to the period when the States-General of the Spanish Netherlands briefly reasserted collective financial authority following the catastrophic mutiny and sack of Antwerp by unpaid Spanish troops in 1576 — the so-called Spanish Fury. The 'des Etats' designation reflects exactly that shift: coinage issued under the authority of the assembled provincial states rather than the Crown.

Philip II never formally sanctioned this series, which gives the issue its political edge and partly explains its short production window.