Netherlands, Dutch Republic AV Rozenobel - "Flemish Noble". Imitating the Edward IV Royal - Rose Noble. Utrecht, 1600-1601. MONE • NOVA • ORDIN • TRAIECTEN •, regal figure standing facing within ship decorated with rose, holding sword and quartered shield / (lyre) ·:· CONCORDIA ·:· RES ·:· PARVÆ ·:· CRESCVNT ·:·, radiate rose, alternating lion passant below crown and lis; all within octilobe. Friedberg 277; KM 6; Delmonte 959; Purmer-UT 21.1. 7.62g, 36mm, 3h.

Extremely Fine; a superb example, with considerable mint lustre.

Acquired from Stanley Gibbons (Guernsey) Limited, prior to 2017 (£2,650).

Struck in Utrecht during 1600-1601, this Rozenobel (or Gouden Nobel) is an imitation of the English denomination introduced during the first reign of Edward IV (1461-1470) which replaced the noble first coined by King Edward III in 1351. For over a century, English nobles were issued with a ubiquitous design depicting a king standing in a ship on the obverse and a cross with the king's initial at centre on the reverse (see lots 1037 - 1040). A rise in gold prices from the 1430s onwards meant that gold was more valuable in Europe, resulting in gold nobles (80 pence) being exported for profit and causing a gold shortage in England. The raised value of the rose noble (100 pence) was intended to discourage any further export of gold from the country. The design of the noble was altered also, the obverse ship now decorated with a rose and a radiate rose replacing the cross and king's initial previously depicted on the reverse. The rose noble was circulated widely in northern Europe, as had its predecessor, and naturally close imitations of the type appeared outside of England. Whilst the rose noble was discontinued in 1470, it was introduced to the Low Countries in 1579 by Philip II of Spain, as ruler of the Netherlands, and stuck for the provinces of Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijsel and Frisia (see Delmonte 956). After the first successes of the revolt against Spain, it was issued as a coin of Utrecht in its own right.