More Eye Candy

I waited rather impatiently for this coin to arrive - but it finally did. And it was well worth the wait. I've had my eye out for one of these for a long time - and when a I dealer I often buy from wrote me about it - I jumped at the chance






It is the real d'or struck in the Austrian Netherlands at the Antwerp mint between 1546 - 1556 during the reign of Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor. His contemporaries were Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France - both great rulers in their own right. But Charles dominated the politics of Europe for 40 years.

Not since Charlemagne in the early 9th century had any one ruler dominated so much of Europe. Moreover, Charles V's Spanish subjects were conquering vast overseas territories in Central and South America. Hernan Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, began to refer to his sovereign as "ruler of the world." Charles spoke of himself as "God's standard bearer," and his heraldic device bore the legend plus ultra - "always further" or "plus more". And this motto later became famous as part of the legend on the well know Spanish pillar dollar.

Charles V was heir to several crowns. He ruled Spain, the Netherlands, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and important principalities in northern Italy. He was elected Emperor of Germany. He owned enormous oversea dominions in Africa; and the two Americas soon became New Spain. He governed each part of his European dominions by a different title and
under a different constitution. He had no fixed imperial capital, but moved about from place to place, a legitimate sovereign everywhere and, for the most part, a popular one as well.

During his reign he fought many wars throughout his Empire - most of them successful, some not so successful. But such was the power of Charles that, although his navies were much weaker than his armies, he yet was able to fight by sea on two enormous fronts, first, in the Mediterranean against the Turks and other Moslems, secondly, in the Channel and along the coast, all the way from Antwerp to Cadiz.

In 1555-56, Charles V voluntarily abdicated in several stages. He left the Holy Roman Empire to Ferdinand and all his other dominions to his son, PHILIP II of Spain. Many historians have seen Charles V's reign as a failure. His contemporaries, however, did not, especially as Philip's marriage with Queen MARY I of England in 1554 seemed to open up dazzling new prospects for the house of Habsburg. No one could know that Mary would die young and childless.

Charles retired to a comfortable villa built next to the monastery of San Yuste in Spain. There he lived the life he had always wished to live. He spent much time in religious devotions but was also surrounded by his fine collection of paintings by Titian and other Renaissance artists. He listened to music, dismantled and assembled mechanical clocks, ate gluttonously, and, not least important, still meddled in European political affairs. Charles died on Sept. 21, 1558.

 

It was indeed - Charles and Luther had several personal run-ins.