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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;talerman, post: 5420099, member: 89314&quot;]Siege of LEIDEN during the Dutch 80 Years&#039; War against their Spanish overlords</p><p><br /></p><p>After taking Harlem on 13 July 1573 but failing to take Alkmaar, the Spanish commander, the Duke&nbsp; of&nbsp; Alba, sent his officer Francisco de Valdez to attack the southern rebel territory, starting with Leiden. The siege began on 21 Aug. 1573. The defences were strong and the soil too soft to dig trenches. Louis of Nassau, William the Silent&#039;s brother,&nbsp; assembled an army in Germany to relieve the city. Valdez lifted the siege in April 1574 to face the invading rebel troops, but Sancho d&#039;Avila reached them first and defeated them on the Mookerheide on 14 April 1574. Louis was killed. The city was besieged a second time on 26 May by Valdez, again without&nbsp; any result. The city was finally liberated by the Dutch irregular pirates&nbsp; known as the Sea Beggars on October 3, 1574. after some of the land had been flooded.</p><p><br /></p><p>During the siege Leiden issued a variety of emergency siege money.</p><p><br /></p><p>Copper Siege 1/2 Stuiver&nbsp; n.d.&nbsp;&nbsp; (1573-4)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1235298[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1235299[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Paper Siege 1/4 Gulden (5 Stuiver) with Holland c/m</p><p><br /></p><p>The production of paper gulden&nbsp; and 1/4 Gulden under a 23&nbsp; Dec. 1573 ordinance started in 1574.&nbsp; The paper coins were made from recycled books, mainly Catholic prayer books (the religion of the enemy Spaniards). Forgeries appeared within 4 weeks. The town decided to control all the coins. Good coins were counter stamped with the dies they had handy: in this case the Holland lion c/m which the Holland rebel government used in 1573/4 to increase the value of silver coins by 1/8 to pay the troops fighting the Spaniards. They found 22 forgeries for the 1 gulden and 22 for the 1/4 gulden. Good paper money was changed for regular&nbsp; immediately after the end of the first siege on 27 March 1574.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1235301[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1235302[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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