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2 Sovereigns - Philip IV
| Issuer | Tournai Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1623-1637 |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Crowned and draped bust of Philip IV facing right, wearing an elaborate ruff collar and royal crown, rendered in high relief in the Baroque manner typical of Spanish Netherlands coinage. The effigy occupies the central field with strong sculptural modeling of the facial features, hair, and costume. The date 16-23 is divided across the upper field flanking the crown. The circular Latin legend surrounds the bust, separated from the beaded inner border by a plain annulus, with a further beaded outer border framing the entire composition. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | PHIL · IIII · D · G · HISP · ET · INDIAR · REX 16 23 (Translation: Philip IV, by the grace of God, King of Spain and the Indies) |
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| Additional information |
Tournai's mint operated under Spanish Habsburg authority throughout this period, striking gold at a fineness that reflected the monetary reforms imposed across the Southern Netherlands following the disruptions of the Eighty Years' War. Philip IV inherited a currency system already under strain — the Northern provinces had broken away, trade routes were contested, and maintaining confidence in Flemish gold coinage was as much a political act as an economic one.
The fourteen-year span of this type is notably long for a gold denomination, suggesting policy stability that was rare for the period. Tournai itself sat uncomfortably close to the French border, and the city would fall to Louis XIV in 1667.