Netherlands 10 Guilder
(Queen Wilhelmina Long Hair)
Grade range: Almost Uncirculated/Uncirculated
Minted 1897 - Total Mintage 450,000
Actual Gold Content: .1947 troy ounce

The ‘Long Hair’ Wilhelmina 10 Guilder is an exceptionally scare historic European coin, minted for just one year (1897) and a total mintage of just 450,000.  Far fewer have survived into the modern era, and are highly coveted, so rarely surface.  All coins offered here are in high end Almost Uncirculated/Uncirculated condition, and show a strong rentetion of original mint luster and fine coin detail.     

Historical Note:

Queen Wilhelmina, no-one's fool, ascended the throne at a young age after the parliament passed a special law allowing a woman to become monarch. She first displayed an incisive intelligence during a meeting with the powerful Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany prior to World War I. Wilhelm boasted to the young Wilhelmina that "my guards are seven feel tall and yours are only shoulder high to them." To this she replied politely: "Quite true, Your Majesty, your guards are seven feet tall, but when we open our dikes, the water is ten feet deep!"

Later, Wilhelmina would display this same acumen in the world of business and finance. She amassed a fortune through various business dealings and investments that surpassed a billion dollars, making her the first female billionaire in history. She moved throughout her life in the highest circles of international finance. Known for her spunk, she called Adolf Hitler "the archenemy of mankind" after being forced to leave Holland for England during the German invasion. In 1953, when the country was devastated by floods, she bicycled the countryside at 73 years of age offering hope and inspiration to the Dutch people. Her rule lasted a remarkable fifty-eight years.