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contribution from Herman Blanton

Philip I the Handsome,   King of Castile 1504-6.
Philip was the first born (1478) of Maximilian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy. Upon the death of his mother in 1482, when Philip was but four years old, he inherited the title of Duke of Burgundy, albeit under the trusteeship of his father until Philip reached the age of 16. In 1496 Maximilian arranged for the marriage between Philip and Joanna, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. There was no intention on the part of Ferdinand and Isabella to convey the thrones of either Castile or Aragon to the house of Austria, for Joanna was third in line of succession. However, through a series of familial misfortunes for the Catholic Monarchs, this is precisely what happened. When Isabella died in 1504, the Castilian crown went to Joanna, as the governors would not pass the crown of Castile to Ferdinand, since he was not Castilian. As the husband of Queen Joanna, Philip is considered King of Castile by his heirs, the first Habsburg king of Spain. Philip died in 1506, leaving Joanna to a secluded life. Much is written about "Joanna the Mad," for those interested in reading it. Philip's greatest claim to fame is as the father of Charles V.


undated original cast silver medal,     Ø 50mm, 58,05g.   Habich I,1,103 (Ø 55mm)
Obv.:   PHILIPVS D G REX CASTELIE EC3 ARCHI DVX AVS ECT ¤
Nearly full front bust to left, wearing hat and the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Rev.:   VIRTVTE· – ET·CONSTANCIA
Fortuna holding sail and riding globe upon the sea.
The medal art form developed in Germany in the early 16th century. The cities of Nuremburg and Augsburg produced fine medalists who carried the Italian Renaissance medallic art form into Germany. This piece is classified as originating from Augsburg. The leading medalist in Augsburg was Hans Schwarz, who produced three exquisite medals before the Emperor Maximilian called the Diet of Augsburg in 1518. The Schwarz medals must have caught the interest of the delegates, which led to a great expansion of medal production by Schwarz and other medalists.
The artist of the subject medal here is uncertain but is identified in the literature as "Master of the Forster Couple" because the same medalist created a medal of the married couple Sixtus and Felicitus Forster. Georg Habich argues that Joachim Forster is the "Master of the Married Couple" and that the "married couple" were his parents. Joachim was born around 1500 and died in 1579. He was one of thirteen children, the most famous of whom is John Forster, who was active in the Protestant Reformation.
This Philip I medal was therefore logically produced no earlier than 1518 and likely within a few years afterwards, as there was a terrific expansion of medal production during and immediately after the Diet.

My thanks to Lutz Neumann Lysloff for his generous assistance.

Bibliography:
Habich, Georg:  Die Deutschen Schaumünzen des XVI. Jahrhunderts Part 1,1, p.21, Medal 103. Munich: F. Bruckmann A.G., 1929.
Smith, Jeffry Chipps:  "A Creative Moment: Thoughts on the Genesis of the German Portrait Medal." In Perspectives on the Renaissance Medal, edited by Stephen K. Scher, pp.177-99. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. and The American Numismatic Society, 2000.

This contibution was first published in NI Bulletin, August 2007, a Publication of Numismatics International.

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