William III and his coinage

Because the father of William III liked to be in Brussels, William III would be born in Brussels in 1817. At the French-speaking court where William III grew up, he would mainly be called Guillaume. Guillaume's full name was Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk. The Alexander and Paul he is named after were his Uncle Alexander I of Russia and his Grandpa Paul I of Russia respectively; both Tsars of the Russians. The rest of the names were popular in the Orange and Nassau genera for centuries.

As a true magnificence, he would be privately educated; Guillaume was taught thirteen hours a day, six days a week. Reports indicate that Guillaume's teachers and governors considered him to be quite intelligent but frequently misbehaved and quite arrogant as well.

Guillaume grew up mainly in the Southern Netherlands and as much as possible in the countryside in large palaces. During his own reign, Guillaume would no longer live in the south, nor would he become king of Brussels. At the time Guillaume was to become king, his native city was already the capital of another country: Belgium. The fact that he would later not be a monarch, as his grandfather had been, had everything to do with the constitutional amendment that his father had worked so hard for. Thorbecke's new constitution ensured that William III would become 'only' constitutional monarch. Despite the loss of part of the Southern Netherlands to the new country of Belgium, William III would remain Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

This modern kingship was not preferred by William III. But maybe that Willem II had deliberately pushed it through for his son just before William III was to become king. William III had quite a few remarkable things; this would later give him the nickname 'King Gorilla'. Yet Willem III would also be loved and given official and unofficial honorary titles.

Where the common people can very exceptionally be awarded the 'Grand Cross in the Order of the Dutch Lion', Guillaume was rewarded with it by his grandfather because he had simply turned ten years old. Guillaume was also promoted to Colonel-Titular of the Infantry on his tenth birthday. This was only decorative. When the war broke out in 1831, the then thirteen-year-old Guillaume played no part in the Ten Day Campaign against the rebellious South.

Yet he would be mainly interested in 'the military'. When Guillaume traditionally went to study in Leiden, one of his professors would write in a letter that the prince was more interested in “grenadier hats than in any book”. He must also have had the necessary interest in firearms, with which he never fired at Belgians, but at animals; Guillaume was a fanatic hunter all his life. After his studies in administrative law, among other things, Guillaume would join the Council of State. An important advisory body for the King; at that time still his grandfather Willem I.

To continue the dynasty, Guillaume would have to marry and father children. Guillaume traveled all over Europe to visit family and other royal houses. Finally, on June 18, 1839, he married his first cousin Sophie van Wurtemberg; they had the same grandfather Paul on the Russian side through their mothers. When Guillaume was six he first met Sophie. She was five then. Sophie wrote in her diary that she was never in love with Guillaume and despite her infatuation with someone else, she still chose to tie the knot with the Prince of Orange. It would be a difficult marriage with legal separation as a result. The marriage between the two was not sterile; three sons were born of the marriage. The eldest son was called Willem according to custom and was nicknamed 'Wiwill' to distinguish himself from the other Willems.

The future king had great difficulty becoming king with limited power. William III did not want to accept the new constitution; for example, he wrote to his sister that he wanted to renounce the throne 'irrevocably and forever' and that it would then go to his eldest son. In the end, Wiwill would never become king and outlive his father. In fact; this son would break with his debauched father and choose a civilian life in Paris. Wiwill was seen in his day as a strong likeness of his father because he would be just as unbecoming.

When Sophie died in 1877, Willem III was able to marry again. First, he wanted to marry an opera singer from Paris. He had already given her a home and title in the Netherlands, but the cabinet did not think this was a good plan. This would be one of many conflicts between the king and the cabinet. The king was convinced that he was going to marry a real royal lady and he set out on a journey through Europe. After several rejections, he arrived in Bad Arolsen, Germany, where he first wanted to marry an older sister, but eventually chose Emma. Emma was 19 years old when they met. When they married six months later on January 7, 1879, she was 20 years old and therefore 41 years younger than the 61-year-old Willem III. From this marriage was Wilhelmina born.

It is remarkable that William III, despite what he wrote to his sister, still became king. William III wanted nothing more, no military titles, nothing. He tendered his resignation as lieutenant general to his father; Willem II simply did not accept this dismissal. William II tried in his life to encourage his son to take the kingship after all because he saw it as a divine duty.

The coinage:

Despite the fact that there were still coins of Willem II from 1849, coins with the portrait of William III were minted in that same year. His portrait could be seen from the coin value 5 cent up to the gold 20 guilder piece, also known as the negotiepenning. However, not all coins on the obverse were struck with the portrait of Willem 3. For example, the obverse of the 2,5 cent with a crowned lion struck with sword and bundle of arrows.

This half stuiver was struck for the first time in William III's reign. The half a cent en 1 cent were struck with a crowned W between the year. In 1878 the design of the half cent was also changed to the crowned lion with sword and arrow bundle and on the back two orange branches tied together. In total there are 32 types of coins from Willem III, in addition to the variants that were also minted. Such as year changes, test pieces or coins where the name of the designer was struck with or without a point. The latter variant therefore became an extra challenge for collectors to find all of them for their collection.
Click here for our range of Willem III coins

About the designer IP Schouberg F :

Schouberg, Johannis Petrus was a Dutch engraver and medalist. At the age of 15, he started working for his father Johannes Schouberg, who was the first engraver of the 'Rijks Seal in The Hague' for more than 45 years, and from whom he received his training. Became an auxiliary die cutter at 's Rijks Munt in 1819, succeeded Van de Goor (PW) in 1826 as second die cutter and was promoted to first die cutter in 1845. Retired on April 1, 1852.

He cut the stamps for the 2½ and 1 guilders 1840 of Willem I, the single and half trade medal, the 10, 5 and ½ guilders, the 25, 10 and 5 cents and the design 10 cents 1843 with the crowned Gothic W of Willem II, as well as the 2½, 1 and ½ guilders and the 25, 10 and 5 cents from William III.

As a medalist he made many dozens of medals. He placed his name or initials on coins and tokens according to Latin tradition as: IPS or IP SCHOUBERG F. Sometimes he omitted the F (from fecit = has made), sometimes also the initials omitted.

Sequel to the king:

Constitutionally, Guillaume could not refuse the kingship at all; the next child of a king in the Netherlands is immediately monarch. That is why we do not have a 'coronation' in the Netherlands, but an 'inauguration'. When William II died, Guillaume was in England and before the new king had heard the news, the newspapers in the Netherlands already announced that he was the new king. On the boat trip home, the Minister of the Interior spoke incessantly to the new king in order to be king after all. When the king docked in Hellevoetsluis, his wife was waiting for him and asked if he had accepted. “Yes, what else should I do?” Guillaume would have replied in French.

According to experts, William III would become the most unfit king we know in the Netherlands. It is also a miracle that William III was not deposed. There are a number of 'comic' anecdotes about Willem III: He is said to have ordered the mayor to be arrested and shot and he wanted to riot in Schiedam to suppress high bread prices by – if it happens again – to have the city cannoned by the navy. Willem III also found it amusing - when he was drunk at night - to have the entire garrison of Apeldoorn come to the square of Paleis het Loo to inspect the guard.

Despite Willem III's quirks, he became immensely popular among the Dutch for a while during a – how could it be otherwise – flood disaster. The king visited the affected area together with his wife, where the population warned him not to go further into the area. Yet the king persisted; "Look at me, do you think I'm not strong enough?!" he would have said. According to a Belgian newspaper, the king of the Netherlands was the most popular king in all of Europe at that time. This earned him the nickname 'The Water Hero of the Loo'. An allusion to his father's nickname 'The Lion of Waterloo'.

Another nickname was less heroic; 'King Gorilla'. This nickname was given to the king by his neighbor of a king's holiday home on Lake Geneva. The lease of this holiday home would be terminated by the landlord due to the king's inconsistencies. The king had exhibitionistic excesses; he was regularly seen naked on his balcony and on the quay. The king could be 'admired' by the many boats that passed by and the neighbors around his departure. When he was taken to court for indiscretions, he invoked his immunity as king.

Since none of the three sons from William III's first marriage survived the king, Wilhelmina, the daughter he had with Emma, ​​became queen at the age of ten. Despite the fact that William III thought that the patrimonial property – only hereditary in the male line – would simply pass to his daughter, this did not happen. This was the end of the era of the three William of the Netherlands and an end of shared borders with Luxembourg. The next king would not call himself William IV, perhaps because he does not want to be associated with his ancestor discussed in this article, but, according to himself, because Willem four is standing in the meadow next to Bertha thirty-eight.