Please note that there are superficial scratches on the holder that do not appear in the photos. In an NGC oversized holder. Only 2 graded higher!

NETHERLANDS. Zeeland (Cities- Zeeuwse Steden). Middelburg. 1572.

AR Velddaalder van 36 stuiver (Field-Daalder, or Siege Klippe of 36 Stuivers). The Spanish Garrison under Mondragon, besieged by de Geuzen. In beaded circle;

✠/

D.R.P. /

F.MIDD /

I • 5 • 7 • Z.

(Deo regi patriae fidelis: Faithful to God, the king, and the nation) Arms of Zeelandish at left, and arms of Middelburg at right. PW. 01; van Gelder 36a; Maillet pl. 83, 2; van Loon. I 159.2. Struck 20 December 1572, or shortly thereafter. Extremely sharp detail.

From the spring 1572 until 1574, the Geuzen maintained a blockade ring around Middelburg. After several attempts by the faithful and King Philipp of Spain to relieve the city had failed, the city capitulated on the 19 February 1574 before the Prince of Nassau-orange. Prior to this, two successive series of emergency coins were issued during the blockade, a third series struck by the city soon after its capture. On the 20 December 1572, the magistrate decided to strike emergency coins out of the silver items provided by the Guild and the Council. On the 20th January 1574, the city decided to refine even its precious Golden utensils for emergency money. The last series of Gold and silver Klippes, struck after the surrender, were issued by the city according to Enno van Gelder probably in March 1574, probably to comply with the payment terms of the winner.

The ‘Geuzen’ (Dutch); French: Les Gueux, English: “the Beggars” was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles and other malcontents, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen; (French: Gueux de mer, English: Sea Beggars). In the Eighty Years’ War, the Capture of Brielle by the Watergeuzen in 1572 provided the first foothold on land for the rebels, who would conquer the northern Netherlands and establish an independent Dutch Republic. They can be considered either as privateers or pirates, depending on the circumstances or motivations.