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2 Thalers
| Issuer | City of Leiden |
|---|---|
| Year | 1574 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Klippe |
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| Reverse description | A lion passant to the left, rendered in the heraldic Dutch tradition, holding in its forepaws a pole surmounted by a liberty cap (Phrygian cap), symbolising the struggle for Dutch independence. The date 1574 is divided and placed on either side of the central device within the field. The composition reflects the patriotic and political symbolism of the Siege of Leiden. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
This piece commemorates the relief of Leiden on 3 October 1574, when William of Orange's forces breached the dykes and flooded the surrounding polders, forcing the besieging Spanish army to withdraw after a four-month siege that had reduced the city's population to near starvation. The Dutch tradition of eating hutspot on that date traces directly to the abandoned Spanish camp.
Struck by civic authority rather than a sovereign mint, the issue falls outside the normal provincial coinage structure of the Habsburg Netherlands — an assertion of municipal autonomy at a moment when that autonomy had just been defended at enormous human cost.