Netherlands 2-1/2 Gulden 1874 KM# 82

[Medalstrike]

Wilhelm was born the son of Prince Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, Prince of Orange, later King Wilhelm II and his wife,
Anna Pavlovna, daughter of Russian Tsar Paul I. He received a military education,
and married on the 18th June 1839 his cousin Sophie von Württemberg, daughter of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg.
They led a very unhappy marriage and Sophie spent much time with her family in Stuttgart.
1851 the couple separated then, and the Queen retired to the Hague Palace Huis ten Bosch.
The couple had three sons who all died before her father. Wilhelm died on 23 November 1890.

2-1/2 GULDEN
38 mm, 25.00g., 0.9450 Silver,
Mintage: 9,755,726
privy mark: Sword in scabbard
KM# 82

Dietmar

[a3v1]

Dietmar,
Your story seems to suggest that the Orange dynasty ended with Wilhelm III.
Which, as we all know, is not the case.
In 1879 Wilhelm III entered a second marriage, with 21-year old Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia (1858-1934) of Waldeck-Pyrmont. They had one daughter, the later Queen Wilhelmina. Her granddaughter, Beatrix, at present is Queen of the Netherlands,
Regards,
a3v1

[Medalstrike]

a3v1,
You're absolutely right, I had actually forgotten to run the theme further,
very well that it is noticed from you.

Sorry, Dietmar

[Figleaf]

William was not a nice guy, but this is a nice coin. Usually, wear shows first in the hair, beard, lion and the front jewel in the crown. On this picture, I don't see any wear at all.

The nickname rijksdaalder has its origin in pre-decimal days, when the stuiver was the unit of account. There were coins of 50 (or 52) stuivers called rijksdaalder, used as unit of account for larger transactions. As the stuiver was replaced by the 5 cent piece (and the latter got the nickname stuiver), in decimal days, 50 times 5 cent would be 2-1/2 gulden. While the origin of the pre-decimal rijksdaalder was undoubtedly the Reichsthaler, they developed differently, the Reichsthaler having a traditional tariff of 60 Kreuzer. The Reichsthaler ended up as the Conventionsthaler and finally the 3 Mark piece, not, as you might have expected, a 2-1/2 Mark piece.

Peter