1 Daalder    (sold for $157.0)

1639, Netherlands, West Friesland. Large Silver Lion Dollar Coin.

Mint Year: 1639
Mint Place: Enkhuizen (West Friesland)
Reference: Davenport 4870, Delmonte 836, KM-14.2.
Condition: A few scratches and minimal deposits, otherwise VF+
Denomination: Lion Dollar / Dog Dollar (Leeuwendaalder in Dutch), also 48 Stuiver
Weight: 26.35gm
Diameter: 41mm
Material: Silver

Obverse: Standing knight left, head right, in front of his legs arms shield bearing a standing lion (West Fresland).
Legend: MO · ARG · PRO · CON FOE · BELG · WEST ·

Reverse: Heraldic lion left with long ornate S-like tail.
Legend: CONFIDENS · DNO · NON · MOVETVR · 1639 (lis)

Lion dollars were usually produced from thin planchets that did not fully fill the thickness of the dies, thus they were often weakly struck.

The lion dollar circulated throughout the Middle East and was imitated in several German and Italian cities. It was also popular in the Dutch East Indies as well as in the Dutch New Netherlands Colony (New York). The lion dollar also circulated throughout the English colonies during the Seventeenth and early Eighteenth centuries. Examples circulating in the colonies were usually fairly well worn so that the design was not fully distinguishable, thus they were sometimes referred to as "dog dollars."