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Silver Fleece - Philip the Handsome
| Issuer | Brabant, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1502 |
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| Currency | Groot (1183-1506) |
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| Obverse description | Central field occupied by the composite quartered shield of Austria-Burgundy, surmounted by an elaborate archducal crown and set upon a floriated cross whose four arms extend to the inner beaded border. The shield displays the dynastic quarterings of Castile, León, Austria, and Burgundy, with a central escutcheon. Wildman supporters are visible at the sides of the shield. The circumferential Latin legend runs between two beaded circles, naming Philip as Archduke of Austria and Duke of Burgundy and Brabant. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Philip the Handsome issued this coin as Duke of Brabant while simultaneously holding the title of King of Castile through his marriage to Joanna — a dynastic convergence that would, within four years of this coin's striking, place a Habsburg on the Spanish throne. The Silver Fleece type takes its name from the Order of the Golden Fleece, of which Philip was sovereign, an institution he used aggressively as a political instrument to bind Burgundian nobles to his cause during a period of sustained tension with France.
Witte 606 is among the documented varieties from his Brabantine coinage, struck at a moment when Philip's monetary policy in the Low Countries was being continuously pressured by currency debasement across neighboring principalities.