36 Stuivers

Middelburg held out for the Spanish crown long after the surrounding towns of Zeeland had fallen to the Sea Beggars. By 1572 the city was effectively blockaded, its sea supply routes cut. These siege pieces were struck from whatever silver could be gathered locally — plate, jewelry, church goods — which is why weights within the type vary more than the catalog suggests and surface quality is routinely uneven.

The blockade lasted until February 1574, when starvation finally forced surrender. Issues struck in the later months of the siege tend to show cruder workmanship as conditions deteriorated.