Coin weights
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Antwerp, coin weight French 'Ecu au Soleil', Nicolas du Mont
Period: 16th century (pre 1576)
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Browse our archive of coin weights. Click on the coin weight to see a color photo and complete description.
On many coin weights the hand of Antwerp can be found. In the Southern Netherlands, Antwerp was an important economic centre for many centuries and was also the hub of coin weight manufacture. As a symbol they used the 'hand mark' of Antwerp which refers to the popular legend of Brabo and the giant Antigone.
Initially the coin weights only bore the hand mark, often in a circle of dots. In the middle of the 16th century the maker added his initials. From 1576 it was required to put the date on the coin weights. Initially they included the last two numbers of the date (8 0 = 1580). During the 17th century the complete date was added.