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Quadruple Pistole - Frederic Henry

Issuer Principality of Orange
Year 1641
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Value 4 Pistoles (288⁄5)
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Obverse lettering FRED HENR D G PRIN AVR CO NA
(Translation: Frederic Henry, by God`s grace, prince of Orange, count of Nassau.)
Reverse description Quartered coat of arms of the House of Orange-Nassau, surmounted by a princely crown, supported on either side by rampant lions serving as heraldic supporters. The complex escutcheon displays multiple heraldic quarterings incorporating the arms of Orange and Nassau, rendered in fine relief within an inner circle. The surrounding field is bounded by a beaded border, with the Latin devotional legend distributed around the full circumference of the coin.
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Additional information

The Principality of Orange was a tiny sovereign enclave entirely surrounded by French territory, and its rulers' right to strike gold coinage was a point of constant political friction with the French crown. Frederic Henry of Nassau, as Prince of Orange, exercised that minting privilege aggressively — partly as a statement of independence, partly because the Dutch-aligned principality needed hard currency for the grinding Eighty Years' War still under way against Spain.

The multiple reference numbers here reflect genuine die variation across the type, catalogued separately by Delmonte and Dh Orange. Two distinct varieties are distinguished by minor differences in the legends.

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