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Silver Ducats are commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of finance and are legal coins. The issue depicting the “Gev Sassenpoort” is of the fifth issue of the series “Dutch city gates and access roads”.
Sassenpoort in Zwolle: Symbol of prosperity
For the fifth part of the series we go to the Hanseatic city of Zwolle, in the province Overijssel. The Sassenpoort can’t be missed when walking through the city. This gate, presumably built in the 15th century, is the main remnant of the derivative wall of Zwolle. The gate is quite large in size and even in the Middle Ages, itwas seen as the symbol of wealth in Zwolle. As a Hanseatic city, Zwolle was important for trade and therefore a wide and large gate was necessary to be able to check all incoming and outgoing carts.
The Sassenpoort played a leading role in many important moments in history: one of them took place in 1524. Karel van Gelre, the duke that is portrayed on all Silver Ducats this series, planned to conquer the city, The people of Zwolle thought differently and hatched a plan. They let the duke in through the outer gate, which was a few dozen meters away from the Sassenpoort. When the duke entered the courtyard, both the outer gate and the Sassenpoort were closed and Karel van Gelre was imprisoned. He had to promise to leave the city alone before he was allowed to leave. Although he did not keep his word, the city was never conquered by him. The Sassenpoort is now on the list of top 100 Dutch Monuments.
Duke Karel van Egmond
According to the Dutch Mint Act, a knight in armor should be on the coin. It is Karel van Egmond (1467 – 1538) (also known as Karel van Gelre). During his reign, he had to deal with threats from emperor Charles V. He also was the last independent feudal ruler of the Netherlands.
Design
The obverse of the Silver Ducat “Sassenpoort” depicts Duke Karel van Egmond in front of the famous building. The provincial arms of Overijssel can be found on his shield. The inscription on this issue reads: “MO.NO.ARG.REG.BELGII.TRAN.”. “MO.NO.ARG.REG.BELGII.TRAN.” is the Latin abbreviation for “Moneta Nova Argenta Regni Belgii”: New Silver coin of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. TRAN stands for the province of Overijssel.
On the reverse of the Silver Ducat, the national coat of arms of the Netherlands with the Royal Crown between the numbers of the year is found. The inscription reads: “CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT”, Unity makes Strength. Here you can also find the mint mark and the privy mark. The coin comes in a metal box.
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