Catharina de Chasseur also known as Catherine le Sasseure and Catherine Dechassoir (1490 - 1541), was a Dutch

counterfeiter To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

. She was the central figure of a famous criminal court case which has often been referenced in Dutch literature. She was originally the daughter of an innkeeper in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Gerrit van Assendelft Gerrit is a Dutch male name meaning "''brave with the spear''", the Dutch and Frisian form of Gerard. People with this name include: * Gerrit Achterberg (1905–1962), Dutch poet * Gerrit van Arkel (1858–1918), Dutch architect * Gerrit Badenhor ...

(1487-1558) and followed him to the Netherlands. The couple separated, but she was given an allowance, and settled in the Hague. In 1532, her spouse deprived her of her allowance. In 1540, false coins started to circulate in the Netherlands. The same year, two young Frenchmen moved into her house, and her neighbors reportedly heard the sound of metal processing from her home. On the night of 11 February 1541, Catharina de Chasseur and her entire household was arrested for coining. In the following trial, she was judged guilty as charged and sentenced to death by burning. Her sentence was reduced by the Regent to execution by drowning.

References

* Serge ter Braake, Chasseur, Catharina de, in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. URL: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Chasseur 6/08/2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chasseur, Catharina de 1490 births People of the Habsburg Netherlands 1541 deaths People executed by drowning Forgers