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Crown 'Zonnekroon' - Charles V
| Issuer | Guelders, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1544-1555 |
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| Reference(s) | GH#186.4, Delmonte G#625, Fr#73, vdCh 2#20.1-2 |
| Obverse description | Crowned quartered coat of arms occupying the central field, bearing the arms of Austria, Old Burgundy, New Burgundy, and Castile, with the escutcheon of Gelderland superimposed at the center. The shield is flanked on either side by the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece — fire steels, sparks, and jewels — rendered in the characteristic Burgundian heraldic tradition. A radiant sun rises above the crown, referencing the epithet 'Zonnekroon' (sun crown). The legend encircles the design in Latin capital letters, interrupted by a pellet stop after each abbreviated word. |
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| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Zonnekroon — "sun crown" — was struck in Guelders during the final, turbulent chapter of the duchy's independence. Charles V had effectively absorbed Guelders into the Habsburg Netherlands following Duke William of Cleves's capitulation at the Treaty of Venlo in 1543, and the coinage issued in the years immediately after reflects that uneasy transition: nominally Imperial, locally produced, and minted under a monetary authority that had just ceased to exist in any meaningful political sense.
The Venlo settlement stripped Guelders of its sovereignty but left Arnhem's mint briefly operational, producing gold of notably high fineness for the period.