Netherlands 50 Euro Silver Coin 1998 Admiral Maarten Tromp

Netherlands 50 Euro Silver Coin 1998 Admiral Maarten Tromp

This beautiful coin was struck to commemorate the "400th Anniversary of the Birth of Maarten Tromp in 1598" - Maarten Tromp (23 April 1598 – 10 August 1653) was an officer and later admiral in the Dutch Navy.

Obverse: Portrait of the Admiral Maarten Harpertsz Tromp (1598-1653) near the cannon positioned on the deck and warship of the Age of Sail (Sea-fight between the Dutch and English navy).
Lettering: KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN 50 EURO 1998
Engraver: Willem Vis

Reverse: The stylized pigeon and the winged Mercury helmet symbolize peace and prosperity.
Lettering: KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN 50 EURO 1998
Edge: Plain

Face value: 50 Euro.
Publisher: Royal Dutch Mint.
Mint mark: Mercury Staff (Utrecht).
Privy mark: Bow and arrow.
Low mintage of 20,000 coins.
It has a diameter of 38 mm, weighs 25 grams, was struck in .925 silver and contains the equivalent of 0.7435 troy ounces of pure silver. It is a prooflike with frosted relief.
KM X147

Maarten Tromp
Maarten Tromp, (born April 23, 1598, Breille, Holland — died Aug. 9, 1653, at sea off Terheijde, near Scheveningen), Dutch admiral, the highest ranking sea commander (from 1636) under the stadholder during the Dutch wars with Spain and England during the first half of the 17th century. His victory over the Spanish in the Battle of the Downs (1639) signalled the passing of Spain’s power at sea.
  At the age of nine, he sailed with his father, Harpert Maartenszoon, the captain of a small man-of-war. When his father changed to the merchant fleet, Maarten accompanied him, but in 1609 the ship was taken by an English pirate, his father was killed, and Maarten was forced to serve the pirate captain for two years.
  After his return to Holland, he rejoined the navy in 1617 and took part in a successful expedition against Algerian pirates. In 1619 he left the navy to sail with a merchant fleet to the Mediterranean, but in 1621 he fell once more into the hands of pirates. Set free after a year, he became a lieutenant in the Dutch navy. In 1621 the Twelve Years’ Truce between the Netherlands and Spain expired, and it became necessary to prepare the fleet for war. In 1624 Tromp received his first commission as a captain, and five years later he commanded the flagship against pirates from Ostend. In 1634 he again left the navy, but in 1636 he returned and was soon appointed lieutenant admiral of Holland, at that time the highest post in the navy under the stadholder, who was also the admiral general of the republic. In February 1639, he defeated a fleet of Dunkirk privateers; he then met a large Spanish armada that was transporting some 13,000 Spanish recruits to Flanders. Commanded by Adm. Antonio de Oquendo and several other experienced captains, the fleet consisted of 45 warships and 30 merchantmen hired as troopships. When Tromp spotted the armada off Beachy Head on Sept. 15, 1639, he had only 13 vessels at his command; his other detachments were cruising in the Strait of Dover and off Dunkirk. Five more Dutch ships arrived the next day, and the Dutch captains decided to give battle. After six hours of fighting, the armada — overcrowded with recruits who accounted for an extremely high number of casualties — withdrew to repair damages. The next day no action could take place for lack of wind, but the Dutch were reinforced by a Zeeland squadron, and, in the early morning of September 18, Tromp attacked the Spaniards in the Strait of Dover. In the afternoon Oquendo withdrew into the neutral roadstead of the Downs. Tromp, after taking in fresh supplies of gunpowder at Calais, soon followed him there, only to be separated from him by an English squadron under the command of Sir John Penington. By October 10 the Dutch fleet was strong enough to challenge the Spaniards, and on October 21 Tromp attacked Oquendo, and Penington’s efforts at protection were of little avail. In the Battle of the Downs, the armada was completely defeated, suffering severe losses in both ships and manpower. Tromp was knighted by Louis XIII in 1640 and by Charles I in 1642 when he visited Dover to escort Queen Henrietta Maria and Princess Mary to Holland. By 1640, thanks to his share of prize money, Tromp valued his assets at 90,000 guilders (at a time when ordinary seamen under his command made 10 guilders a month).
  Tromp’s main task during the next years was action against the Dunkirk pirates who continued to attack the Dutch merchant fleet. In 1646 Tromp helped the French capture Dunkirk, after which the Order of St. Michael was conferred upon him. After the Peace of Munster in 1648, which concluded the Eighty Years’ War, the activities of the Dutch navy diminished until, in 1651, growing privateering between Scandinavia and Gibraltar made it necessary to reinforce the neglected fleet and to protect maritime trade. Relations with England became increasingly strained after the Navigation Act (1651), which was passed to restrict Dutch trade with British possessions, while much resentment was also caused by the English claim to sovereignty over the seas.
  A skirmish with Adm. Robert Blake off Dover in May 1652 resulted in the First Anglo-Dutch War, which marked a crisis in the rivalry between England and the Netherlands as carriers of world trade. Although Tromp was unable to stir the English admirals to action later in the year — for which he was censured by the Dutch authorities, who even kept him from his command for some months — he defeated Blake off Dungeness in December. But the English fleet was superior to the Dutch; Tromp was unable to continue his successes and lost the three-day battle between Portland and Calais (March 1653), as well as the Battle of Gabbard in June. Tromp was killed in the battle off Terheijde near Scheveningen.

Netherlands 50 Euro Silver Coin 1997 Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft

Netherlands 50 Euro Silver Coin 1997 Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft

Commemorative issue: 350th Anniversary deathday of Pieter Cornelisz Hooft

Obverse: Pieter Cornelisz Hooft and Amsterdam in the background.
Lettering: Amsterdam 1997 PIETER CORNELISZ. HOOFT 1581-1647.
Subject: Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft (16 March 1581 in Amsterdam – 21 May 1647 in The Hague) - Knight in the Order of Saint Michael - was a Dutch historian, poet and playwright from the period known as the Dutch Golden Age.

Reverse: The stylized pigeon and the winged Mercury helmet symbolize peace and prosperity.
Lettering: KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN 50 EURO 1997.
Edge: Plain.

Face value: 50 Euro.
Mint: Royal Dutch Mint.
Mint mark: Mercury Staff (Utrecht).
Privy mark: Bow and arrow.
Composition: Silver.
Fineness: 0.925.
Weight: 25 g.
ASW: 0.7435 oz.
Diameter: 38 mm.
KM X135.

Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft
Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft (born March 16, 1581, Amsterdam, Netherlands — died May 21, 1647, The Hague), Dutch dramatist and poet, regarded by many as the most brilliant representative of Dutch Renaissance literature. Hooft’s prose style continued to provide a model into the 19th century.
  During three years spent in France and Italy, Hooft came completely under the spell of the new learning and art; the impact of that experience is shown by the contrast between his letter in pre-Renaissance verse sent from Florence to his friends in Amsterdam and the first poetry he wrote after his return: love lyrics and the pastoral play Grandida (1605). That play is noted for the delicacy of its poetry and the simplicity of its moral — that individuals and nations can be at peace only when rulers and subjects alike shun ambition and seek only to serve.
  Hooft’s personal and pragmatic ethic is more explicit in the Sticht-rijmen (1618 or 1619; “Edifying Verses”) and two Senecan tragedies. Geeraert van Velsen (1613) is a quasi-historical dramatization of the murder of Count Floris V, and Baeto (1617) portrays an Aeneas-type hero who goes into exile rather than cause civil war. Both plays reveal Hooft’s pacifist hatred of tyranny.
  In Nederlandse historiën (20 vol., published 1642, a continuation in 1654), the glory of the epic hero, the prince of Orange, is reflected in Hooft’s affection for the commoners who fought for the new democracy in Holland (now part of the Netherlands). Tacitus was his model for this monumental work, on which he spent 19 years chronicling only the period from 1555 to 1585.
  The Muiderslot (the castle that he restored) became, after his second marriage in 1627, the centre of the Muiderkring, a circle of accomplished and cultured friends including Constantijn Huygens and Joost van den Vondel.

Netherlands 50 Euro Silver Coin 1996 Constantijn Huygens

Netherlands 50 Euro Silver Coin 1996 Constantijn Huygens

Commemorative issue: 400th anniversaty birthdate Constantijn Huygens (1596)

Obverse: On the right side Constantijn Huygens face profile (based on the 1641 Mierevelt painting) with a goose quill and a musical key refering to his literary and musical talents, the country estate Hofwijck and a ship that is copied after "De Zeven Provinciën" (Dutch: "the seven provinces") the flagship of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. The ship alludes both to Huygens diplomatic travels and to 'Het schip van Staat' as mentioned in Huygen's Scheepspraet.
Subject: Sir Constantijn Huygens (4 September 1596 – 28 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens.

Lettering: 1596 CONSTANIJN 1687 HUYGENS
Engraver: Willem Vis (fish beneath '87' obverse)

Reverse: The stylized pigeon and the winged Mercury helmet symbolize peace and prosperity.
Lettering: KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN 50 EURO 1996
Edge: Plain

Face value: 50 Euro.
Publisher: Royal Dutch Mint.
Mint mark: Mercury Staff (Utrecht).
Privy mark: Bow and arrow.
Composition: Silver.
Fineness: 0.925.
Weight: 25 g.
ASW: 0.7435 oz.
Diameter: 38 mm.
KM X129.



Constantijn Huygens
Constantijn Huygens (born Sept. 4, 1596, The Hague — died March 28, 1687, The Hague), the most versatile and the last of the true Dutch Renaissance virtuosos, who made notable contributions in the fields of diplomacy, scholarship, music, poetry, and science.
  His diplomatic service took him several times to England, where he met and was greatly influenced by John Donne and Francis Bacon. He translated 19 of Donne’s poems and was introduced by Bacon to the New Science, which he in turn introduced into Holland as a subject for poetry.
  Among Huygens’ writings, at one extreme stands Costelyck mal (1622; “Exquisitely Foolish”), a satire of the ostentatious finery of the townswomen; and, at the other extreme, Scheepspraet (1625; “Ship’s Talk”), in the language of the lower deck, and Trijntje Cornelis (1653), an earthy farce.
  Huygens saw poetry only as “a small pastime,” as the titles of his poetry collections indicate: Otia of ledighe uren (1625; “Idleness or Empty Hours”) and Korenbloemen (1658 and 1672; “Cornflowers”). Dagwerck (1639; “Daily Work”), one of his three autobiographical works, provides insight into the contemporary intellectual climate.

Dutch ship De Zeven Provinciën (1665)
De Zeven Provinciën (Dutch: "the seven provinces") was a Dutch ship of the line, originally armed with 80 guns. The name of the ship refers to the seven autonomous provinces that made up the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. The vessel was built in 1664-65 for the Admiralty of de Maze in Rotterdam by the master shipbuilder Salomon Jansz van den Tempel.
  The ship served as Admiral Michiel de Ruyter's flagship during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, taking part in the Dutch victory at the Four Days Fight and the defeat at the St. James's Day Battle, and acting as a command post as well as blockading the River Thames during the Raid on the Medway. The vessel performed well throughout the war, though it was partially dismasted during the Four Days Fight.
  De Ruyter used De Zeven Provinciën as his flagship during the Third Anglo-Dutch War of 1672-1673. The ship served in all four major battles against the combined English and French fleet, fighting in the Battle of Solebay, the first and second Battle of Schooneveld and, in possibly its greatest moment, the Battle of the Texel. In 1674 the ship visited the West Indies.
  In 1692 the ship, now armed with only 76 guns, fought at the Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue during the War of the Grand Alliance. The vessel was severely damaged during the fight and, in 1694, De Zeven Provinciën had to be broken up.
  De Zeven Provinciën was 151 ft (46 m) long and 40 ft (over 12 m) wide, and had a draft of over 15 ft (c. 4.7 m). It was 1600 tons and had a crew of 420. It was originally armed with twelve 36-pounders and sixteen 24-pounders on the lower deck (although this had changed to an all 36-pounder battery by the time of the Third Anglo-Dutch War), fourteen 18-pounders and twelve 12-pounders on the upper deck, and twenty-six 6-pounders on the forecastle, quarterdeck, and poop deck.
  In 1995 a full-size replica of the ship was started at the Batavia-werf (docks) in Lelystad; but due to severe technical problems that work was completely wrecked. In 2008, a new replica began to be constructed.
  On the evening of October 13, 2008 a fire ripped through the Batavia-werf. Although the sailmaking shed, several office buildings and part of a restaurant were destroyed, as were the sails of fellow replica ship Batavia, the replica of "De Zeven Provinciën" nearby was undamaged. In 2014 work on the ship stopped due to lack of funding.

Netherlands 10 Cents Silver Coin 1903 Queen Wilhelmina

Netherlands 10 Cents Silver Coin 1903 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Obverse: Young bust of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
Lettering: WILHELMINA KONINGIN DER NEDERLANDEN.

Reverse: Value in wreath.
Lettering: 10 CENTS 1903.

Composition: Silver.
Fineness: 0.6400.
Weight: 1.4000 g.
ASW: 0.0288 oz.
Diameter: 15 mm.

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina, in full Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria (born August 31, 1880, The Hague, Netherlands — died November 28, 1962, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn), queen of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948, who, through her radio broadcasts from London during World War II, made herself the symbol of Dutch resistance to German occupation.
  The daughter of King William III and his second wife, Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Wilhelmina became queen on her father’s death (Nov. 23, 1890) under her mother’s regency. She was inaugurated Sept. 6, 1898, at Amsterdam’s Nieuwe Kerk, and soon gained widespread popular approval. On Feb. 7, 1901, she married Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and gave birth to a daughter, Princess Juliana, on April 30, 1909. During World War I, Wilhelmina was influential in maintaining the Netherlands’ neutrality.
  When Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, Wilhelmina issued a proclamation to her nation of “flaming protest” and a few days later left for England with her family and members of the Cabinet. Throughout the war, she exhorted her people over Radio Orange to maintain their spirit until the nation’s liberation, and she was welcomed back with enthusiasm when the German occupation was ended in 1945. After abdicating the throne in favour of Juliana on Sept. 4, 1948, because of poor health, Wilhelmina retired to her palace, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn. Her memoirs, Eenzaam maar niet alleen (1959; Lonely but Not Alone, 1960), reveal the deep religious feeling that dominated her life.

Netherlands 10 Gulden Silver Coin 1973 25th Anniversary of the Reign of Queen Juliana

Netherlands 10 Gulden Silver Coin 1973 25th Anniversary of the Reign of Queen Juliana

Commemorative issue: 25th Anniversary of the Reign of Queen Juliana

Obverse: Effigy of Queen Juliana facing right.
Lettering: · JULIANA REGINA · 1948 4 SEPTEMBER 1973.
Engraver: Katinka Bruyn-van Rood.

Reverse: Coat of arms of the Netherlands divides date, denomination below.
Lettering: 1973 NEDERLAND 10 GULDEN.
Engraver: Katinka Bruyn-van Rood.

Edge: Plain, inscripted.
Lettering: GOD * ZIJ * MET * ONS *

Metal: Silver (.720).
Weight: 25 g.
Diameter: 38 mm.
Shape: Round.