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Triton XXV 11-12 Jan 2022
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LOW COUNTRIES, Kingdom of Holland. Lodewijk I Napoleon. 1806-1810. AR 50 Stuiver (36mm, 26.24 g, 6h). Utrecht mint; mm: bee. Dated 1807. Bare head right / Crowned coat-of-arms. Schulman 148; KM 28. Delicate golden toning around periphery. UNC. Very sharp strike from fresh dies and nearly without the normal weaknesses of his coinage. Very rare – only 300 struck.
From the J. de Wilde Collection.
In 1806 Lodewij became the first King of the Netherlands at the behest of his elder brother Napoleon Bonaparte. His reign ended the Batavian Republic (1795-1806), the French supported the anti Orange movement. Though reluctant to take the throne his benign rule, improvements to society and the compassion he showed his subjects earned Lodewick the sobriquet 'de Goede' (the Good). His inauguration speech became famous for his effort to speak Dutch, and is remembered humorously for his French accent: "I am your king (koning)" was pronounced as "I am your rabbit (konijn)". As a result of Lodewijk's wasteful spending, impulsiveness. and failure to uphold the French blockade of England, his brother dethroned him and annexed The Netherlands to the French Empire in 1810. After the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815, Lodewijk attempted to regain his Dutch throne, but the house of Orange was rewarded for their support to the Allies and Lodewijk went into exile. In 1852 his youngest son Charles would found the Second Empire in France becoming Napoleon III.
This is the first Dutch coin to depict a ruler since the Great Revolt in the reign of Philip II, in the mid 16th Century. Furthermore, it is the first large coin (taler, crown) since Philip II that shows 'stuivers' as a denomination.
From the J. de Wilde Collection.
In 1806 Lodewij became the first King of the Netherlands at the behest of his elder brother Napoleon Bonaparte. His reign ended the Batavian Republic (1795-1806), the French supported the anti Orange movement. Though reluctant to take the throne his benign rule, improvements to society and the compassion he showed his subjects earned Lodewick the sobriquet 'de Goede' (the Good). His inauguration speech became famous for his effort to speak Dutch, and is remembered humorously for his French accent: "I am your king (koning)" was pronounced as "I am your rabbit (konijn)". As a result of Lodewijk's wasteful spending, impulsiveness. and failure to uphold the French blockade of England, his brother dethroned him and annexed The Netherlands to the French Empire in 1810. After the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815, Lodewijk attempted to regain his Dutch throne, but the house of Orange was rewarded for their support to the Allies and Lodewijk went into exile. In 1852 his youngest son Charles would found the Second Empire in France becoming Napoleon III.
This is the first Dutch coin to depict a ruler since the Great Revolt in the reign of Philip II, in the mid 16th Century. Furthermore, it is the first large coin (taler, crown) since Philip II that shows 'stuivers' as a denomination.