Hi. Can anybody help me with this coin? I think it's French but not sure.!! Thanks in advance. Naboul
I know very little about foreign coins but there are alot of others in here that do know alot. Im sure someone in here can help you.
It is a double tournois of Frederic Henri de Nassau,Prince of Orange (father of William II of Orange) which I believe is now in Holland.The inscriptions however are in French.
The Principality of Orange is now located in France,not the Netherlands.The Princes of Orange were the ancestors of the Stadhouders,& now the Dutch monarchs. Aidan.
Technically, this coin is not French, as the principality of Orange was at that time an independent state.Still, it payed tribute to France. Your coin is listed in Krause as French States- Principality of Orange KM#59 double tournois, minted in 1637, 1640 and 1641 (a ND variety exists). bart
Thanks guys, Incidently,as you probably already know,Frederic Henri de Nassau was grandfather to William III,king of England,Scotland and Ireland 1689-1702.
Orange was intrinsically as french as french could get. It just happened to have slipped (through inheritance) from great french houses (Baux and Chalon) to the house of Nassau. To understand the why's and wherefore's of `Orange' you need to look back to the old Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Burgundy. `Orange' was basically a fiefdom which conveyed feudal and sovereign rights similar to many german principalities. This relatively small piece of turf based around the town of Orange was latterly inherited by William the Silent of Nassau (the then Stathouder of the Dutch Republic) from Rene (the last remaining member of the original House of Orange-Chalon) in 1544, the house being known thereafter as Orange-Nassau. The title of `Prince of Orange' became synonymous with the stathouder of the Netherlands under Maurice (Frederich Henry's father) Under Frederich Henry, there was at first a strong alliance between Orange and France against Spain, but the alliance was tossed aside when Freddy ended up making peace with Spain, much to the chagrin of the French. France ultimately annexed Orange in 1673 in their `disputes' with William of Orange (William III of England, Scotland, and Ireland). When William died intestate there was no-one really left who was willing to seriously take on the french for `ownership'. Frederick of Prussia claimed `nearest living relative' status and promptly ceded the lands (but not the title) to the French. The title (not that it means much) still remains with the crown of the Netherlands. As an aside, the latin name for `Orange' is Aurasicens, hence why we typically see `A' or `Aur' in the legends of its coinages. Coinage from Orange is generally exceedingly difficult to find in F+ condition and very expensive when you do. The copper coinage is fairly readily found in lower grades though, but still isn't exactly `common'.
Thanks for the history Ian! I'm gonna guess this coin is 1637 since it appers to have a 7 in the date although I'm at a loss to figure out how they squeezed a 3 in between the 6 and 7.
I've only got five coppers from Orange, none of which are in brilliant condition. Here's the 1641 aND 1642 dates for Fred. Hen. The 1642 date is very difficulty to determine from the scan, but easy when in the hand. The mark on the front is a `pock' not a counterstamp. Seems to me that it must have been a flaw on the planchet. An entirely different bust from 1641.
Here is another French double tournois. Made by the times of Henri III de Valois who was also king of Poland but only during one cold winter. He escaped from Poland in female disguise to became the king of France. As the nation we had never accepted his sexual orientation. In Poland we call him "winter rabbit".
