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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ian, post: 178183, member: 283&quot;]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.</p><p><br /></p><p>To understand the why&#039;s and wherefore&#039;s of `Orange&#039; you need to look back to the old Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Burgundy. `Orange&#039; 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&#039; became synonymous with the stathouder of the Netherlands under Maurice (Frederich Henry&#039;s father)</p><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p>France ultimately annexed Orange in 1673 in their `disputes&#039; 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&#039;. Frederick of Prussia claimed `nearest living relative&#039; 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.</p><p><br /></p><p>As an aside, the latin name for `Orange&#039; is Aurasicens, hence why we typically see `A&#039; or `Aur&#039; in the legends of its coinages.</p><p><br /></p><p>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&#039;t exactly `common&#039;.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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