Better poor in Hoorn ...

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One hundred coins found in Hoorn excavations
Hoorn, June 16, 2010

During an archeological dig at Westerdijk in Hoorn, one hundred coins were found, including a silver 16th century coin.

The excavations were made on the grounds of the former stone-cuttery Vogelpoel, where Intermaris Hoeksteen plans to build an apartment complex. The place is interesting, because it is part of the original West Frisian ring dyke. Numerous additional layers from the period 1400-1600 were found and remains of houses from the period 1600-1900.

The finds show that in the Golden Age (1575-1675) the poorer population of rich Hoorn still used a quantity of expensive items. "Behind the back road" was not as poor as assumed.

Source: Noordhollands Dagblad

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Some notes:

• The coin illustrated is the silver 16th century coin: a Swedish coin struck in the name of Eric XIV.
• Dutch law makes it obligator to do an archeological investigation, before a new building can be constructed
• Hoorn was one of the wealthiest places in the Republic. It housed a mint and a VOC admiralty
• Hoorn has a nice, picturesque town centre and a local museum where some coins are exhibited

Peter

[akona20]

A little off topic but my wife and I stayed in hoorn for one night in late 1979 whil;e on a European self drive holiday. We stayed at a small inn and the next day was market day. The hospitality was wonderful.

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Glad you liked the place, Akona. The market there is not bad at all.

The broad building on the left originally was Saint Catharine's convent. It was turned into a mint in the war of independence. Hoorn claimed the right to mint, together with Medemblik and Enkhuizen, all referring to mint rights obtained from the Holy Roman Empire. This was contrary to the wishes of Amsterdam, that wanted a single Holland mint. As a compromise, the Holland mint was established in Dordrecht, another place with old minting rights, while Hoorn, Medemblik and Enkhuizen got to strike coins on a rotating basis in the name of the Northernmost part of Holland, West-Friesland. Their mintage was deducted from the share of Holland. In reality, the West-Friesland mint was just as tightly controlled by the Estates of Holland as the Dordrecht mint and it minted only types approved by the Holland Estates, which in turn was dominated by Amsterdam.

In 1682, the mint came to share the building with a VOC admiralty. On the triangular central part of the gable is still a VOC monogram topped by a H for Hoorn. The mint was closed during the French occupation. The building was turned into a school and later into a police station. It is now populated by artists. The street was re-named Muntstraat (Mint Street).

Peter