Daalder 'Rijksdaalder' - In the name of Maximilian II

The Abbey of Thorn — a community of canonesses in what is now the Dutch province of Limburg — held the status of an imperial abbey, giving the abbess the right to strike coin in the name of the reigning emperor. This particular rijksdaalder was issued under Abbess Margaretha van Ouren during the opening years of the Dutch Revolt, a moment when silver coinage of reliable weight was being hoarded, melted, and debased across the Low Countries at an alarming rate. That the abbey continued striking to imperial standard while the surrounding region descended into military and monetary chaos is itself worth noting.

Maximilian II died in 1576, and Thorn's coinage in his name was confined to this narrow window of 1569–70.