Thanks to GDJMSP for identifying this coin from my father's collection: a 1596 helmeted rijksdaalder from the Dutch province of Westfriesland. My family goes back at least 400 years in Enkhuizen, one of several towns in this province that took turns minting coins starting in the late 1500s. (I'm pretty sure this coin was minted in Hoorn, though.) I grew up hearing stories about the Eighty Years' War with Spain, which started about 30 years before this coin was made. Given the timing, I'm thinking that Mr. Helmet is William the Silent. He certainly isn't saying. I'm very new to the coin world and very rusty on my Dutch history.
I'm not contributing anything special to this thread, but when I read the title, I thought the coin has to be dutch. They language is very odd, and they often have 3 consanants in a row, that I simply wouldn't know how to pronounce. The netherlands is the nicest place in the world in my opinion, and I hope to live there someday, which means I should probably start reading about these coins. I really like the design on your coin, and I must say I am jealous.
Umm...where's the helmet? All I see is his hairline,and that's receding.:smile That's a beautiful coin Marianne!!
If you can gargle, you can learn Dutch. It's a great place. With your food technology background, maybe you could become an expert on Dutch cheese. Or chocolate. Or beer... Dutch coins are sheer craziness. I read that there were 250 varieties of just the seven most commonly used coins between the late 1500s and the mid 1800s.
It is indeed William the Silent portrayed on the coin. The helmeted part refers to the reverse with the provincial arms surmounted by a crested helm. gx - what makes you think this is an overstrike ? I see no signs of it.
Thanks for the ID, GDJMSP. And I'm far too green to spot any but the most obvious overstrike, gx, but I'm curious to know more about them.
