| Description : Charles V (1500‐1558), a member of the Habsburg
dynasty, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1506 and from 1516, as Carlos I, King of Spain and its overseas
colonies, more precisely of Castile, León and Aragon in personal union. In 1520, he was crowned Roman‐German
king by Archbishop Hermann V von Wied of Cologne in the imperial cathedral of Aachen and emperor by Pope
Clement VII in Bologna in 1530. Under his reign, the economy prospered. It is therefore no coincidence that
Charles V laid a number of cornerstones of today's coinage. In 1521, new types of coins were issued along with a new
denomination, including the golden Charles florin, whose value corresponded to the average wage for four days' work of a
Brussels master bricklayer. It depicts Charles V, beardless with long hair, wearing his armour and holding his sword
and orb. The inscription reads "KAROLVS▪D:G▪ROMANOR▪IMP▪Z▪HISPAR▪REX" (Latin: KAROLVS
Dei Gratia ROMANORum IMPerator et HISPAnoRum Rex = Charles by the Grace of God Emperor of the Romans and King of the
Spanish). In 1524, the Charles florin also became the unit of account (imperial coinage). Because of the size of his
empire, state interventionism and centralism, Charles V is considered by some to be the "Father of Europe". The silver
Charles florin, introduced in 1543, was depicted on a Belgian "ECU" in 1987. The coin, designed by Luc Luycx, shows
the effigy of Charles V on the right as a side‐inverted detail of the copy painted (after a lost original by
Titian) by Peter Paul Rubens Portrait of Carlos V and Isabel de Portugal, now in the Liria Palace in Madrid.
The chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece with the golden ram's skin as pendant is, however, depicted differently than in
the original. Below it is written "CAROLUS V" (Charles V) as the occasion of issue. A golden Charles guilder is
depicted at the top left, with the country abbreviation "BE" (Belgium) and "2021" for the year of issue below it. At the
bottom left is the coat of arms of the municipality of Herzele as the logo of the mint master Ingrid Van Herzele and
to the right the staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Royal Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Houten, as
well as the designer's signet "LL" at the bottom. |
