★ NGC VF30 ★

Belgium, Brabant, Philip IV (1621-1665), 48 Patards ND (1652-1672) (Silver, 26.05 gr, 36 mm) Delmonte 324. NGC VF30
With "Golden Fleece" countermark on cross side on Bolivia, cob AR 8 reales, Potosi mint dated 1668 host (KM 26)
There were a great number of Spanish coins circulating in the Spanish Netherlands during the middle part of the 17th century. Part of this money was to finance the Army of Flanders during the Thirty Years War. A great number of these Spanish coins were cobs and a lot of the cobs were found to be underweight and low purity, likely related to the mint scandal at Potosi which led Philip IV to order a complete redesign of the coins produced in South American mints. Also, the practice of clipping, or trimming of metal along the coin edge was responsible for some lightweight coins in circulation. In section nine of Philip IV's pragmatica of 1-October-1650, he specifically banned counterfeit coins that originated in France and Portugal as distinct from the spurious coins originating in Peru, which were recalled. In order to reduce fraud and facilitate commerce the government required all Spanish cobs to be turned in to the mint for melting and made into new money. In areas where there was no mint, certain money changers were authorized to test the cobs, and if they determined the coins were of proper weight and fineness to counterstamp them with the Golden Fleece. This practice began in 1652 and ended approximately 1672 when the government "discovered" that the people were clipping the counterstamped coins, and so even though they were stamped as proper weight, they had now become adulterated and hence the stamp was no longer a reliable indicator of full weight coins.