Description

William III. and Mary II. 1689-1694. Gold Medal 1689, 18.50 g. Coronation of William III and Mary II. Unsigned, by J. Roettier. Busts, conjoined and draped, him being laureate. GVLIELMVS . ET . MARIA . REX . ET . REGINA. Rv. Jove hurls thunder at Phaeton falling from his chariot. NE TOTVS ABSVMATVR. In exergue: INAVGVRAT . II . AP 1689. Plain edge. 35.3 mm. Eimer 312a. MI i 662/25. van Loon III, 379,1. Saunders/Vanhoudt 1689-9. Fast vorzüglich / About Extremely Fine. Kleine Kratzer / Small scratches.

Purchased from Schweizerischer Bankverein, Basel, March 1984.

William III and Mary II were crowned together at Westminster Abbey on 11 April 1689 by the Bishop of London, Henry Compton. Normally, the coronation is performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but the Archbishop at the time, William Sancroft, refused to recognise James's removal.

The joint rule of William III of Orange (1650 - 1702), the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic and the grandson of Charles I of England, and Mary II (1662 - 1694), the daughter of James II of England and his first wife, Anne Hyde, established constitutional monarchy and laid the foundation for modern parliamentary democracy.

This was the official coronation medal struck for distribution among the spectators.