Daalder Pewter, Klippe, year on top

Zierikzee was blockaded by Spanish forces under Mondragon from late 1575 into 1576, cutting the island of Schouwen-Duiveland off entirely. The town's garrison and civil authorities, unable to access the mint at Middelburg, improvised coinage from pewter — a material normally reserved for domestic wares — to pay troops and maintain some semblance of monetary function under siege conditions. Klippe format was adopted out of necessity, not convention; square flans were simply faster to produce without proper coining equipment.

Zierikzee ultimately surrendered in July 1576 after the relief fleet failed to break the Spanish blockade.