constanius Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 EX DECRETO COMITIORVM FLANDRIAE 1790. Rev. JVGO AVSTRIACO EXCVSSO RELIGIONIS ET PATRIAE LIBERTATE VENDICATA SOLI DEO HONOR 1789, copper 33mm. Feuardent 14063. This token commemorates Flanders formal (January 4th 1790) Declaration of Independence, it is by Theodore Van Berckel, engraver at the Brussels Mint in silver & copper (De Coster # 903). The inscription on the reverse was used at the Inauguration Ceremony on a huge display. From Société royale de numismatique de Belgique 'Revue Belge de Numismatique' (1903) Vol 59 ( My Translation ) "In lieu of these tokens, distributed to the people at the Grand Ceremonial inauguration of The State of Flanders, the poor of the 17 parishes of the city were given bread to the value of 7 sols. This circumstance is important from the point of view of numismatics" A. de Witte. Obviously, if they had given tokens and not bread to the poor there would have been a lot more tokens struck, hence not so rare. Background; Austrian Netherlands 1789/90 Revolutionaries under Van der Noot raised a small force and invaded Brabant province defeating Austrian forces at the Battle of Turnhout in October of 1789. Thus began the Brabant Revolution in earnest. By November of 1789 Austrian troops had withdrawn to their strongholds in Luxemburg and Antwerp, fleeing the advancing revolutionary troops and general anarchy. Van der Noot declared Brabant independant and soon after the other provinces of the Austrian Netherlands followed suit including, on January 4, 1790, the provinces of Flanders (East & West). On the strength of their early successes, the now free states formally unified on January 11, 1790 forming the short lived Verenigde Nederlandse Staten (Dutch) / États-Belgiques-Unis (French) / The United States of Belgium (English). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Obviously, if they had given tokens and not bread to the poor there would have been a lot more tokens struck, hence not so rare. I would have thought that because tokens were not given out, there would be more available that weren't worn. Obviously not so straight forward but I guess they would have made the decision ahead of time, before striking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 but I guess they would have made the decision ahead of time, before striking. Correct and I guess the poor people preferred getting the bread, as that token looks a bit hard to chew (might have cracked a few teeth) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Correct and I guess the poor people preferred getting the bread, as that token looks a bit hard to chew (might have cracked a few teeth) So why do British monarchs give out "Sunday (sp?)" coins to the poor once a year? If I were trying to put food on the table, I would turn around and sell those sets. Same with above token. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Thedeadpoint this explains it better than I could Maundy Money Link pronounced 'morn d'. Great that you have such an enquiring mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Maunday! I knew it was like a day of the week. My searches based on "Sunday" didn't turn anything up. The wikipedia article was great. I'm glad they retain the tradition more-or-less to this day. And the article even acknowledged the recipients selling their coins. So I'm mistaken. The above token is not a local form of Maunday money but just a commemorative of a special event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Maunday! Maundy money was given out by the monarch each year to the poor and is generally of silver composition. Many people do sell the sets but they are legal tender. So a Maundy penny can legally be spent in a shop, although it will not get you far and will be worth more to a collector. Here is a rare Maundy set of Queen Anne which I own: http://coinsgb.com/Anne/7-Silver-1-4-1703-1713.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Great coins, Clive. I'm still astounded they have 3 and 4 pence coins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted April 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Nice set Clive, glad you posted them. I realized that I had not posted a translation. EX DECRETO COMITIORVM FLANDRIAE 1790 = By Decree The Flanders Assembly 1790 Rev. JVGO AVSTRIACO EXCVSSO RELIGIONIS ET PATRIAE LIBERTATE VENDICATA SOLI DEO HONOR 1789 = The Austrian oppressor exercised(shaken off, expelled) Worship and Fatherland liberated, avenged, honour to God alone. 1789 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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