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Philip II, King of Spain 1556-1598
- son of Emperor Charles V (King Charles I of Spain) and founder of the Spanish line of Habsburg - * 1527 Valladolid, †1598 Escorial near Madrid. Philip II received from his father the following contries: in 1540 the Duchy of Milan, in 1554 the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily and in 1555/56 the Netherlands, the Franche-Comté and Spain with its colonies. In 1580 Philip also claimed and took over Portugal. He strove for Spanish world supremacy and fought for the counter-reformation. He was married four times: Maria of Portugal (*1526, †1545 following the birth of Don Carlos), Queen Mary Tudor of England (1554, †1558), Elizabeth of Valois, daughter of King Henry II of France (1559, †1568) and finally, in 1570, Anna of Austria, daughter of Emperor Maximilian II. King Philip II fought successfully against France (1557-1559), against the Turks (Juan d'Austria's victory near Lepanto in 1571) and against Mediterranean pirates. However, his attempt to conquer England failed (destruction of the Armada in 1588, sea-battle of Cádiz in 1596), as did his efforts to subdue the revolting Netherlands (secession of the northern provinces). Philip's ongoing war efforts overstrained his financial and economic resources and eventually led to the decline of Spanish supremacy.
Philip II minted coins with his effigy in Milan, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia and in the Spanish Netherlands, while in Spain large coins only showed heraldic symbols, as in his father's time. 
Double Schautaler, n. d. (1586/98), Brabant. Ø 46mm 62g Delm.88 ; Dav.- Obv.: +·PHILIPPVS·D:G·HISP·3·REX·DVX·BRA "Philip by the grace of God King of Spain, Duke of Brabant"
Rev.: ·DOMINVS·MI - HI·ADIVTOR· "The Lord is my helper"
arms, upper part : Castile & León | Aragón & Sicily in between : Granada (pomegranate) upper center : Portugal lower part : Austria (band) & Old-Burgundy (oblique stripes) | New-Burgundy (fleur-de-lis) & Brabant (lion) lower center : Flanders | Tirol (lion | eagle) 
Philipsdaalder 1557, Antwerp. Ø 40mm 34,8g Delm.12 ; Dav.8625 Obv.: PHilippuS·Dei·Gratia·HISPanae·ANGliae·Z(etc)·REX·DVX·BRABantiae 1557 "Philip by the grace of God King of Spain, England etc., Duke of Brabant"
Rev.: ·DOMINVS·MIC - HI·ADIVTOR·(mm. hand)·
crowned arms between fire irons with flames, St.Andrew's Cross in the background,
underneath a flintstone with flames and the Golden Fleece hand, Antwerp's mintmark
Doppia 1578, Milan. (double ducat) Ø 26,2mm 6,56g Crippa 4/A ; Fr.716. Obv.: PHILIppus·REX·HISPANIarum·ETC "Philip King of Spain, etc." crowned head, date below. Rev.: MEDIOL - ANI·DVX "Duke of Milan" arms of Milan under a crown with a palm and a laurel branch. 
Mezzo Ducato, n. d. (1554-6), Naples. ø 34mm, 14,9g. Pannuti Riccio 3
Obv.: PHILIP·R·ANG·FR·NEAP·PRI·HISPA· "Philip, King of England, France, Naples, Prince of Spain" crowned bust, to the left the monogram IBR (Juan Bautista Rabaschiero) Rev.: POSVIMVS·DEVM·ADIVTOREM·NOSTrum "We have made God our helper" crowned arms, half Spanish, half English (lions and fleur-de-lis interchanged). Compare the English shilling 1554  with a similar reverse side.
10 Reali n. d., Cagliari, Sardinia. ø 41mm, 28,47g. Varesi 40 ; Dav.8366 Obv.: +PHILIPPVS·:REX·ARAGONVM·ET·SARDINIÆ crowned bust, marks C / X – A. Rev.: ¤INIMICOS·EIVS·INDVAM·CONFVSIONE "His enemies I shall clothe with shame." (so about David in Psalm 132, 18 and here about the king)
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