Netherlands, Holland 1 Gulden 1793

Northern Netherlands Republic of Holland, city Dordrecht, guilder 1793

An exceptionally well-preserved Dutch guilder from 1793, minted in Dordrecht under the assayer Jan Abraham Bodisco. The specimen has circulated only minimally and possesses unusually much original relief. The main motifs, fine details and lettering stand boldly on the flan, giving this guilder a particularly convincing appearance. For this type, a specimen of high quality.

The obverse shows the crowned Generality Coat of Arms of the Republic, flanked by the denomination 1 – G. Around it reads MO : ARG : ORD : FAED : BELG : HOLL ●, an abbreviation of Moneta Argentea Ordinum Foederatorum Belgii Hollandiae: ‘silver coin of the States of the United Netherlands, Holland’. The inscription makes clear that the coin was issued under the authority of the States and struck for the province of Holland.

The reverse bears one of the most characterful allegorical representations of the late eighteenth‑century Republic. The Dutch Maiden holds a spear topped with a liberty cap and leans on a pillar on which a Bible rests. The cut features the year 1793. Surrounding it is the motto HAC NITIMVR – HANC TVEMVR, ‘We stand on this, we protect this’. The depiction links the Republic’s liberty with the Protestant faith tradition: the Maiden and the liberty cap symbolize political freedom, while the Bible represents the religious foundation.

The year 1793 gives this guilder a special historical charge. The French Revolution had profoundly changed the political order in Europe, and in February of that year revolutionary France declared war on the Republic. The coin was thus struck in a period when the liberty so prominently depicted on the reverse was indeed under great political and military pressure. Two years later, in 1795, the old state structure collapsed and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands gave way to the Batavian Republic.

The coin was produced in Dordrecht under assayer Jan Abraham Bodisco, without any separate mint mark or assayer’s mark and with a cross-carved edge.

Delmonte 1179 · Verkade 53.3 · HNPM 64 · CNM 2.28.104 · Passon & Van der Wis 2.28.104

A minimally circulated Dutch guilder with exceptionally well-preserved relief and remarkable sharpness in both imagery and lettering. The combination of quality, powerful iconography, and the historically charged year 1793 makes this a particularly appealing specimen from the waning days of the Republic.