LOW COUNTRIES. Middelburg. Siege by the Dutch, 1572-1574. Nooddaalder van 36 Stuivers (Silver, 35x34 mm, 29.42 g), 20 December 1572. + / D.R.P. / F. MIDD / 1.5.7.2 in four lines within round incuse punch; to left, coat-of-arms of Zeeland within incuse punch; to right, coat-of-arms of Middelburg within incuse punch. Rev. Blank. Delmonte 165. Van Gelder 36a. Vanhoudt 460. Mailliet 83.2. Rare. A beautifully toned example of this interesting historical issue with a fine pedigree. Flan crack and two old inventory numbers in ink on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.




In 1566, an insurrection in the Habsburg Netherlands soon developed into a wide-scale revolt against Philip II's centralization and religious policies, in what would later be called the Eighty Years' War. Not all cities sided with the rebels, however, and Middelburg, the capital of the province of Zeeland, stayed loyal to the Crown. In 1572, Protestant forces encircled the city and cut off its supply lines. Despite repeated attempts by the Spaniards to lift the siege and the continued resistance of the Middelburgers and the Spanish garrison over the next two years, the city was forced to capitulate in 1574. At several points, Middelburg struck emergency issues to pay its defending troops. The current piece belongs to the first emission of December 1572 and was struck from silver collected from Middelburg's guilds and city council. The legend on the obverse can be expanded as 'D(eo) R(egique) P(opulus) F(idelis) MIDD(elburgensis)' or 'The People of Middelburg, true to God and King'.