I had no idea that this piece would lead me on a search for a violent storm that occurred in 1593. But that is how it goes with these Old Sails, there is always a story to be told. This is particularly true for Dutch jetons, as they typically commemorated some event.
This jeton (note: it is a counting piece of bronze, in low relief, thin as a fingernail, but broad at 29mm) showed two fully-rigged carracks heading past a spit of land. On the shore there is a church with a hipped roof and tall steeple. Thick clouds are overhead, although the sea looks calm enough. On the reverse, the arms of Zeeland sit atop crossed anchors. The jeton is dated 1593.
It is beautiful piece with nice details, unevenly toned as if set aside in the back of a drawer for many years. I wonder who it was given to? Who set it aside? And, how was it discovered again? It was not money; rather, it was a piece that was meant to captivate whoever held it. Maybe that is why is survived for 400+ years.I searched the legend on the Internet: IDEM.PROTECTOR.ET.HOSIS -- it translates to "Friend and enemy alike." The reverse legend reads: LVCTOR.ET.EMERGO -- it translates to "Struggling I emerge." So what do these words mean?
My first lead was a listing for this jeton at the National Maritime Museum in the UK. The description was concise: "Counter commemorating losses by storm, 1593." With this information, the legends made sense to me as suggesting that the weather (winds in particular) are "friend and enemy alike." The obverse suggests that not all was lost.
So what about the storm? A search of storms in 1593 uncovered several citations. Apparently, there was a fiery storm on Christmas Eve that hit Texel Roads in the north of Holland in 1593. Twenty-four ships sank that night with 1050 sailors lost in the waves. Another reference claimed that 40 ships were lost. All told, there were about 150 ships in the harbor waiting for favorable winds -- so indeed, all was not lost.
Texel Roads was a relatively safe harbor, located north of Amsterdam. Many merchant ships could not enter the Amsterdam harbor due to its shallow depth; consequently, they sailed north to Texel to load and unload in the calm waters of the Wadden Sea. Still, storms took their toll over the years, as over 60 shipwrecks have been found in this area. One reference suggested that there was an increase in stormy weather during the period between 1593 and 1597 due to climate changes.
I found it uncanny that Shakespeare included the following lines in Venus and Adonis, published in 1593: "Like a red morn that ever yet betokened; wreck to the seamen ... ." This is a restating of an old bit of mariners' wisdom: "Red sky at night, sailors' delight; Red sky at morning, sailors' take warning."
I guess the sky was red on the morning of December 24, 1593.
