Gary's Golden Wilhelmina Guldens
1913

Owner Comments:

The obverses of all Wilhelmina 10 Gulden coins feature one of four busts of Queen Wilhelmina, while the text on each obverse remains the same. The phrase “GOD ZIJ MET ONS” is properly translated “God be with us” and “KONINGIN WILHELMINA” is translated “Queen Wilhelmina”. The crowned arms on the reverse of each of the coins in this series divide the denomination of the coin on the left by the number 10 and on the right by the letter G, and this represents the value of the coin as 10 Gulden. The text “KONINGRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN” is properly translated “Kingdom of the Netherlands”. The date on the reverse of each of these coins is on the bottom bordered by two privy marks in a semi-circle with one on the left and one on the right. Privy marks are small marks on a coin that typically represent the mint and the mintmaster. The “caduceus” privy mark to the right of the date represents the Utrecht Mint and appears on coins minted there from 1806 to the present. The privy mark to the left of the date represents the mintmaster with the “halberd” representing H. L. A. van den Wall Bake appearing on coins minted from 1888 to 1909 and the “seahorse” representing Copius Hoitsema on coins minted from 1909 to 1933.

This 1913 NGC MS-66 10 Gulden coin has a mintage of 1,133,476.

I do not know when if ever I will have an opportunity to purchase coins for this set that ultimately meet my goals. Therefore, to maintain the best set possible at the time, I will oftentimes upgrade a coin without the new coin meeting my final objectives. This was the case with this coin that I bought raw on June 14, 2009 and subsequently had graded by NGC at MS-63. Upgrades of this date came on March 1, 2010 to MS-64 and my target grade at MS-65 through a Teletrade auction on January 24, 2011. I purchased this sets current coin on December 12, 2013. Since this coin is a top-pop at MS-66, it likely represents the final upgrade.