European Medals from 1513 to 1788
Netherlands, Dordrecht. Counter of heavy weight (Silver, 34.5mm, 15.41 g 1), 1579. PRÆSTAT*PVGNARE*PRO*PATRIA*.15*79. ( It is better to fight for the fatherland ) Above, two armored horsemen attacking eachother; below, two infantrymen fighting. Rev. *QVAM*SIMVLATA*PACE*DECIPI* ( than to be fooled by a false peace ) The two headless bodies of Counts Egmont and Horn, with, beside them, their heads impaled on two posts. Van Loon I, p. 270, i. Beautifully toned and exceptionally attractive. Very minor die fault on the obverse edge at 7, otherwise , good extremely fine. Ex Peus 407, 7 November 2012, 1642. Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522-1568), and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn (c. 1518/1526 -1568), were two of the most important noblemen of the Netherlands in the third quarter of the sixteenth century: both were supporters of the Spanish crown. Both protested the imposition of the Inquisition by Cardinal Granvelle, but still remained loyal to Philip II. This opposition enraged the king and he sent in the Duke of Alba to pacify the country. Despite protests from all over Europe, Alba arrested Egmont and Horn, convicted them in a kangaroo court, and had them both executed the next day, 5 June 1568. That action, and Alba’s other cruelties, made the Dutch Revolt inevitable; they have been lauded as heros in both Belgian and the Netherlands ever since. This jeton was struck as a reminder to those engaged in peace negotiations in 1579, of what happened to earlier leaders who had wished for peace.