1589 Lion Thaler Coin

Hi realeswatcher,
you were right, I was wrong - Delmonte (The Silver Benelux) mentions 1577 (and 1585 and 1586 (R3)) as years between the very common 1576 and 1589 dates

@sjkrose

congrats with great purchase, regular planchet, sharp strike, little post strike wear
few pieces have the regular inner and outer circles and thin adjacent lines

do you see the die variant of your coin, when compared to the pieces posted by jgenn and wonghinghi?

it would help to show focused pictures of the entire OBV and REV sides of your coin

Just over the weekend I picked up a 1637 Lion Daalder , West Friesland province. Interestingly today's XRF analysis showed Silver 94-95% and Cu 4-5% (both sides of the coin measured).
From my internet research I note that Leeuwendaalders generally have 75% Silver. How to explain this higher Silver content?

Squire

Although this paper describes experiments to replicate Roman silver-copper coin alloys, it concludes that silver surface enrichment can be a result of the fabrication of the blank.

Thanks for your response jgenn and sel_69I

I should have attached a photo of the coin. I got this because it had an appeal to me. A powerful design "in the raw". It was also relatively cheap.
The Daalder has been cleaned beforehand and this was advertised by the reputable dealer from where I purchased the coin.

I note the strange edge to the coin. From searching the Internet there is some mention of these coins having been illegally "shaved" for their silver.

Feedback would be appreciated

Squire

although the coin is a typical 1637 West-Frisian design (other example:
https://veiling.veilinghuisderuiter...89ba58ba339)
I agree that the very high silver content and the strange patina does one hesitate whether or not it is genuine; difficult to say from pictures

in any case, the 16th and 17th century leeuwendaalders were hand made, so the planchet form and planchet thickness, as well strike depth should be irregular

for the clipping issue, it would be good to know the weight of your coin

@austrokiwi, you rightly mention Leeuwendaalder as the preferred name for these coins - Lion Dollar is interesting as it refers to the history of the coin in the colonial America

What few people know is that the leeuwendaalder played two important roles in the monetary history of the Netherlands

1) tax collection to support the war effort of the Dutch rebels against the Spanish throne - 1575-1579
This role of the leeuwendaalder is unknown to most collectors. Perhaps it is the most interesting aspect historically as it may have influenced more than in details the outcome of the Dutch revolt and the rise of the Dutch Republic.
Mid 1575 the situation of the Dutch rebels facing far superior Spanish army was difficult. One of the greatest concerns was to raise sufficient funds for the wages of the rebel troops (including 1000 Scottish soldiers). The resolution of 25 august 1575 of the States of Holland approved the coinage of a large silver piece with face value of 32 stuivers in which silver content was only 29 stuivers. By melting the then standard Philipsdaalders and Bourgondische kruisdaalders and reconverting those into leeuwendaalders a 10% tax was taken. The estimation of the total income of this operation is approximately 1 million guilders which was substantial but not enough to support the war effort (In "The Dutch Revolt" Geoffrey Parker estimated the daily wages of the Dutch rebel army at about 8000 guilders). The pacification of Ghent made an end to the monetary policy of Holland.

2) Dominating large silver piece for international trade (1585 - mid 17th century)
much larger quantities of the leeuwendaalder were produced during the following decades, not only by Holland but also by the other provinces of the Dutch republic in order to meet the increasing demand for this currency in the international trade
originally used in the "Oostvaart", the trade route from the Netherlands via the Sond passage into the East Sea, in order to buy grains in Poland and the Baltic states. We know very well how important this trade was as there is a register for tolls payed by all ships passing the Sond. Specifically the leeuwendaalder gained enormous popularity in the trade with the Ottoman empire (the Levant trade). For an interesting analysis see http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/pap.../Bulut16.pdf Around 1960 important leeuwendaalder coin hoards were found in Lebanon and Syria, and this sparked interest for international collectors. Other interesting by-products are the Maltese counterstamps on Leeuwendaalders and the Italian and contemporary imitations.
After 1620 the role of the leeuwendaalder diminished because other popular currencies, like the Patagon and Ducaton from the Spanish Netherlands or the Nederlandse Rijksdaalder and silver Ducaat from the Northern provinces. The last leeuwendaalders were issued early in the 18th century.

I agree with you that the connection of the leeuwendaalder to the American dollar is of interest, and that the presence of imitations on the market is a shame. The "Geldmuseum" in Utrecht closed its doors in 2013, which is a pity; however the National Numismatic Collection can be looked into:
https://www.dnb.nl/over-dnb/nationa...e-collectie/

below is an other example of an early type Leeuwendaalder (type 1b) issued during the first half of 1576 - this type played a role in the tax collection effort