CNG 108, Lot: 1079. Estimate $500. Sold for $950. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

DUTCH REVOLT (Nederlandse Opstand), Low Countries. Woerden. Besieged by the Spanish under the command of Gilles van Berlaymont, 8 September 1575-10 September 1576. AR 10 Stuiver Klippe (27x27mm, 6.21 g). Later issue. Undated issue. + PRO ARIS ET FOCI, civic coat-of-arms; I O (mark of value) flanking shield; all within double pearl border; stellate stops / Blank. P&W Wo 03.1; cf. Gelder, Noodmunten, 73; cf. Mailliet 3 (issue with countermark); Lasser 1110; CNM 2.47.10. In NGC encapsulation, 4212877-004 graded AU 50.

Ex Archer M. Huntington Collection, ANS 1001.1.9380 (Numismatica Genevensis SA VII, 27 November 2012), lot 506.

After Schoonhoven, the Spanish under Gilles van Berlaymont next set siege to Woerden. Lasting almost a year, the Spanish withdrew without taking the town, because the were sent to deal with a mutiny in Flanders. The success of the defenders was due, in part, to the assistance of Adriaan van Swieten, who transported supplies to the town from nearby Gouda. In addition, the locals, more familiar with the terrain, used that knowledge to harry the Spanish. During this time occurred the Wonder van Worden, a legendary miracle, also known as “the fish miracle.” Faced with starvation, the saved by the miraculous appearance of large pike that entered the city via the Oude Rijn. A difficult fish, due to its nasty nature and sharp teeth, they complacently offered themselves to ithe populace for sustenance. This event is commemorated in a stained glass window in Woerden’s Petruskerk.