(sold for $6.0)

1987, Belgium.  Silver 5 Ecu Coin. Charles V of Spain / Treaties of Rome Anniv.

Mint Year: 1987 Mintage: 987,000 pcs. Reference: KM-166. R! Condition: A nice proof or proof-like uncirculated in original capsule of issue! Denomination: 5 Ecu - Charles V of Spain / 30th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome Material: Silver (.833) Weight: 22.86gm Diameter: 37mm

Obverse: Crowend, draped and armored bust of Charles V of Spain right. Legend: + CAROVS . D . G . ROM . IMP . HISP . REX . DVX . BVRG : C . F

Reverse: Value (5) above denoomination (ECU), date (1987 and privy mark of the Brussels mint (cupid´s head facing). All within a circle of 12 stars. Tri-lingual (french/dutch/german) legend round. Legend: BELGUQUE / BELGIE / BELGIEN

Charles V (Spanish: Carlos; French: Charles; German: Karl; Dutch: Karel; Italian: Carlo)     (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was ruler of both the Spanish     Empire from 1516 and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as of     Habsburg Netherlands from 1506. He voluntarily stepped down from these     and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556.     Through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive     territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish     colonies in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned     nearly four million square kilometers and were the first to be described     as "the empire on which the sun never sets".

Charles was the heir of three of Europe's leading     dynasties: the Houses of Valois-Burgundy (Netherlands), Habsburg (Holy     Roman Empire), and Trastámara (Spain). He inherited the Burgundian     Netherlands and the Franche-Comté as heir of the House of     Valois-Burgundy. From his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, he inherited     Austria and other lands in central Europe. He was also elected to     succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor, a     title held by the Habsburgs since 1440. From the Spanish House of     Trastámara, he inherited the crowns of Castile, which was in the process     of developing a nascent empire in the Americas and Asia, and Aragon,     which included a Mediterranean empire extending to Southern Italy.     Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in     his own right, and as a result he is sometimes referred to as the   first   King of Spain. The personal union, under Charles, of the Holy   Roman   Empire with the Spanish Empire resulted in the closest Europe   would come   to a universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious.

Because of widespread fears that his vast inheritance     would lead to the realization of a universal monarchy and that he was     trying to create a European hegemony, Charles was the object of     hostility from many enemies. His reign was dominated by war, and     particularly by three major simultaneous conflicts: the Habsburg-Valois     Wars with France, the struggle to halt the Ottoman advance, and the     Protestant Reformation resulting in conflict with the German princes.     The wars with France, mainly fought in Italy, resulted in recovery of     territory lost at the beginning of his reign and included the decisive     defeat and capture of Francis I of France at the Battle of Pavia in     1525. France recovered and the wars continued for the remainder of     Charles's reign. Enormously expensive, they led to the development of     the first modern professional army in Europe, the Tercios.

The struggle with the Ottoman Empire was fought in     Hungary and the Mediterranean. After seizing most of eastern and central     Hungary in 1526, the Ottomans' advance was halted at their failed   Siege   of Vienna in 1529. A lengthy war of attrition, conducted on his   behalf   by his younger brother Ferdinand, continued for the rest of   Charles's   reign. In the Mediterranean, although there were some   successes, Charles   was unable to prevent the Ottomans' increasing   naval dominance and the   piratical activity of the Barbary Corsairs.   Charles opposed the   Reformation and in Germany he was in conflict with   the Protestant   Princes of the Schmalkaldic League who were motivated   by both religious   and political opposition to him. He could not   prevent the spread of   Protestantism and although he won a decisive   victory against the Princes   at the Battle of Mühlberg, 1547, he was   ultimately forced to concede   the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, which   divided Germany on confessional   lines.

While Charles did not typically concern himself with     rebellions, he was quick to put down three particularly dangerous     rebellions in the vital territories of Castile, the Frisian lands, and     later in his reign in the port city of Ghent. Once the rebellions were     quelled the essential Castilian and Burgundian territories remained     mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule.

Charles's Spanish dominions were the chief source of     his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his     reign progressed. In the Americas, Charles sanctioned the conquest by     Castillian conquistadors of the Aztec and Inca empires.     Castillian control was extended across much of South and Central     America. The resulting vast expansion of territory and the flows of     South American silver to Castile had profound long term effects on     Spain.

Charles was only 56 when he abdicated, but after 34     years of energetic rule he was physically exhausted and sought the   peace   of a monastery, where he died at the age of 58. Upon Charles's     abdications, the Holy Roman Empire was inherited by his younger brother     Ferdinand, who had already been given the Austrian lands in 1521. The     Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands and   Italy,   was inherited by Charles's son Philip II. The two empires would   remain   allies until the 18th century.