Great Britain 2x Rechenpfennig (Counter Token) 1689/1689-1690s William & Mary. Both struck in Nurnberg, by Lazarus Gottlieb Lauffer. XF-AU (deposits)

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1689, England, William & Mary. Brass Rechenpfennig Tokens by Lazarus Gottlieb Lauffer (Nurnberg).

Mint Year: ca. 1689, 1689-1690s.
References: Mitchiner #1800, #1796.
Mint Place: Nurnberg (for Great Britain)
Condition: Light deposits, otherwise XF-AU!
Maker: Lazarus Gottlieb Lauffer (active ca. 1663-1709)
Denomination: Rechenpfennig (counter token) - Coronation of of William and Mary / William & Mary.
Weight: 1.01gm, 2.43gm
Diameter: 18mm, 26mm
Material: Brass


Obverse: Conjoined draped busts of William III (wreathed) and Mary right. Engraver´s signature (LGL. R) below arm truncation (on the larger token only).
Legend: GVILELMVS . ET . MARIA . REX . ET . REGINA .

Reverse: Crowned coat-of-arms within Order of the Garter. / Crowned coat-of-arms within Order of the Garter within foliage, supported by crowned lion and unicorn. Crowned cyphers (W-R) above, motto below.
Garter Inscription: HONI . SOIT . QVI MAL . Y . PENCE ("Shame be to him who thinks evil of it.")
Legend: RECH . PF . CONVTER . LAZ . GOTL . LAVFR . / W-R / Di . EV . E . M : DROIT



The statement "Honi soit qui mal y pense" supposedly originated when King Edward III was dancing with his first cousin and daughter-in-law, Joan of Kent. Her garter slipped down to her ankle, causing those around her to snicker at her humiliation. In an act of chivalry Edward placed the garter around his own leg, saying "Honi soit qui mal y pense", and the phrase later became the motto of the Order.





William III & II (4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702) (Dutch: Willem III) was a sovereign Prince of Orange by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange (Dutch: Willem III van Oranje) over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland, and as William II over Scotland. He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy". A member of the House of Orange-Nassau, William won the English, Scottish, and Irish crowns following the Glorious Revolution, in which his uncle and father-in-law, James II, was deposed. In the British Isles, William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary II, until her death on 28 December 1694. The period of their joint reign is often referred to as "William and Mary".

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