Netherlands Silver Medal 1766 William V - Inauguration as hereditary stadtholder - By Holtzhey VF+

Netherlands. William V of Orange-Nassau — Inauguration as hereditary stadtholder, 8 March 1766. Medal bearing the signature of Johan George Holtzhey.

Obverse: Bust of William V facing right, his hair tied with a ribbon, wearing a coat and draped mantle. Signed beneath the bust: I. G. HOLTZHEY FEC.

Reverse: Three putti supporting the crowned arms of Orange-Nassau, encircled by the Order of the Garter, beneath rays of heavenly light. Their attributes include a sceptre surmounted by a radiant eye, military equipment and a liberty cap on a pole.

Legend: VT PATRIAE PATER SIT — “May he be a father to the fatherland.”

In the exergue: INAVG. VIII MART. / MDCCLXVI., recording the inauguration on 8 March 1766. Signed above the exergue: I. G. HOLTZHEY FEC.

The medal commemorates William V’s inauguration upon reaching his majority in 1766, when he assumed personal responsibility for his hereditary offices in the Dutch Republic. Its imagery expresses the hope that the young prince would safeguard the country’s government, military strength and liberty.

Reference: Vervolg Van Loon 382. The type is represented in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inventory NG-VG-1-2657, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession 2023.569.230. Both museum examples are catalogued as silver; the metal and precise production date of the present specimen have not been independently established.

Fine surface scratches are visible on both sides.

Weight: 25.9 g.
Diameter: 44 mm.

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