Voor Koningin en tegen revolutie 1918 1918

This bronze medal, made in the Netherlands in 1918 by Johannes Cornelis Wienecke, encapsulates the fraught social climate of post-World War One Europe. The medal reads "Voor Koningin en tegen revolutie," or "For Queen and against revolution." The coin’s imagery and text serve as a proclamation of support for the Dutch monarchy and a rebuke of revolutionary sentiment. During this time, socialist ideas were gaining traction across Europe, including in the Netherlands, prompting anxieties among the ruling classes. The piece’s iconography is overt: the Queen is depicted on one side and a mass of hands reaching towards the light on the other. Examining the medal through a socio-political lens sheds light on the tensions between conservative and progressive forces during the early 20th century. A deeper dive into archives and political publications from the era can give greater insight into how the monarchy used visual media to shore up its power.