Netherlands, Wilhelmina, 1941, 10 Cent, Silver, KM 163

[aws22]

Netherlands, Wilhelmina, 1941, 10 Cent, Silver, KM 163
KM#163
Weight 1.4 gm
Diameter 15 mm
Metal Silver 0.640
Nice small silver coin.

Maythem

[Figleaf]

The history of this coin is quite similar to that of the cent you posted before. However, the design is quite different. The bronze coin had symbols of the state with a nod to royalty. The silver coin has the royalty with a nod to the state. That nod is the wreath of oak, a symbol of strength. To put that in perspective, here is an anecdote. Once, queen Wilhelmina was seated with emperor William of Germany. William, a notorious windhead, kept boasting about his personal guard. All soldiers were selected on having a length of at least 1.90 meters, he said. Wilhelmina's reaction: if we flood the country, the water is 2 meters high.

The difference in character of the two coins is a nod to the archaic notion that copper coins should be disdained by nobility. That notion apparently extended to copper-nickel as the 5 cent doesn't have a portrait either.

Wilhelmina's father, William III, was a deeply unpleasant and mercurial character who did much to bring the country towards changing to a republic. His second wife and Wilhelmina's mother, queen Emma, brought the country back to royalism. She gave the little princess - born after her father's death - a thorough education, demanded strict moral behaviour and presented her child to the Dutch with a series of charming coins, first as an uncrowned child, from 1898 as a crowned young woman. Wilhelmina continued Emma's policy of high level morals (her best known vice was a weakness for sweets that made her fat) and fine portrait coins. Your coin is from the fourth of five series.

Peter

[aws22]

Thank you Peter for the valuable information; beautifully explained.

Maythem

[THCoins]

I now realize that i find it surprizing to see a Dutch coin ending up in the orient. That while i have gotten used to seeing oriental coins here in Amsterdam all the time.
The coin you show is a very familiar one. During WWII these were typically used to make jewelry from, mostly bracelets and lapel pins. These were worn as a sign of protest against German occupation. My grandmother had a bracelet with more than 20 of these soldered in place which she wore all the time.

[aws22]

Thank you Anthony for passing, small silver coins were often used for ladies jewelry. Here in Baghdad they often use gold Ottoman Lira , 1/2 Lira or 1/4 Lira as part of a necklace or a bracelet.

Maythem