| Description : William III (1817‐1890) was Duke of Limburg from 1849
to 1866 and King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg in personal union from 1849 until his death. In 1867, the
Luxembourg Crisis occurred when Napoleon III tried to buy Luxembourg from him. In the Second Treaty of London, Luxembourg
was then declared "forever neutral". On the commemorative coin commemorating the 200th anniversary of his birth,
William III is depicted on the right after a portrait painted in 1861 by Johan Hendrik Hoffmeister (1823‐1904).
On his neck he wears the Order of the Golden Fleece, furthermore (from top to bottom) the stylised breast stars of the Military
Order of Wilhelm and the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands as well as the highest order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
the Nassau House Order of the Golden Lion. The reason for its foundation was the 600th anniversary of the division of the
House of Nassau into the Ottonian and the Walramic lines as well as the fiftieth anniversary of the Duchy of Nassau. The coin,
designed by Herbert Wähner, shows Grand Duke Henri in half‐profile on the left and his name "HENRI" in vertical
lettering underneath, with the year of issue "2017" above it. The French form of William III's name and the year of his
birth are depicted in an arch at the top right with "GUILLAUME III ☆ 1817", and the inscription
"GRANDS‐DUCS DE LUXEMBOURG" (Grand Dukes of Luxembourg) at the bottom. At the bottom left the sails of the
three‐masted clipper Nederland the logo of mint master Maarten Brouwer and a staff of Hermes the mint mark
of the Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Utrecht. In the Proof set 2016‐18, the logo of mint master
Stephan Satijn, the Servaasbrug (Sint‐Servaas Bridge in Maastricht), and the national mint mark, the Luxembourg
lion with double tail, are depicted instead below the portrait of Henri. |
