With a truly classic old world design, Netherlands 10 Guilder King Willem III represent one of the most sought after and coveted of all pre-1900 European gold coins.  A total mintage of just 7.8 million coins, Netherlands 10 Guilder King Willem III are far scarcer than their contemporary counterparts like British Sovereigns and French 20 Francs, yet just common enough that high end BU examples like these are still obtainable for premiums comparable to modern bullion fractional equivalents.  These coins are sharply struck, and display highly lustrous almost proof-like surfaces despite being nearly 150 years old – offering gold owners a unique confluence of divisible negotiability, scarcity, and antiquity, in an extremely high state of preservation, and all at very favorable acquisition prices (less per ounce than a modern bullion equivalent).

The older, scarcer Netherlands 10 Guilder King Willem III gold coins are much more difficult to obtain than the better-known Queen Wilhelmina 10 Guilder gold coins also offered at this site. Though, rather surprisingly, a good majority of the Netherlands 10 Guilder King Willem III that show up in the market are in high-end uncirculated condition.  With a total mintage of under 8 million pieces (see mintage figures below), predominately in the 1870’s, the Netherlands 10 Guilder King Willem III gold coins are one of the least expensive and oldest pre-1900 foreign fractional scarcities available in a high state of preservation, making them a very popular portfolio inclusion when available.  The obverse depicts King Willem III, a ruler known for his autocratic tendencies. England’s Victoria referred to him as the ‘uneducated farmer.’  He died in 1890 leaving the throne to his precocious daughter, Wilhelmina.

Holland is most famous in financial history for its Tulipmania in 1637 — the prototype financial bubble against which all other bubbles will forever be measured. The price of one special, rare type of tulip bulb called Semper Augustus was 1000 guilders in 1623, 1200 guilders in 1624, 2000 guilders in 1625, and 5500 guilders in 1637. Shortly thereafter, the bottom fell out on the market and prices plummeted to 1/200 of their peak price.

Though tulip bulbs have spent the last 366 years in happy financial dormancy, the more contemporary mania involving stocks and irredeemable paper money continue to crop around the globe with disturbing regularity. A Dutch newspaper reported in 2002 that there now exists a tulip appropriately named Dow Jones, and advised that stock market investors might consider cashing in their holdings and investing the proceeds in (you guessed it) . . . tulip bulbs. It seems they are once again on the upswing. History teaches us that gold coins, like the Netherlands 10 Guilder King Willem III, protect one’s portfolio against such mania.