Gulden 'Sint Jansgoudgulden' - Arnold of Egmont

Arnold of Egmont's tenure as Duke of Guelders was defined less by governance than by a prolonged dynastic catastrophe. His own son Adolf had him imprisoned in 1465, holding him captive for several years in an attempt to seize the duchy outright. Charles the Bold of Burgundy eventually intervened, securing Arnold's release — but only after Arnold had signed away his ducal rights to Burgundy in 1472, effectively ending Guelders' independence. This coin's fifty-year production window spans nearly that entire turbulent arc.

The Sint Jansgoudgulden designation references its derivation from the Rhenish gold gulden type, itself ultimately traceable to Florentine influence filtering northward through the Rhine valley mints.