Huwelijk van Willem Frederik, erfprins van Oranje-Nassau en Fredrika Louise Wilhelmina, prinses van Pruisen 1791

This commemorative silver coin, celebrating the wedding of Willem Frederik and Fredrika Louise Wilhelmina, was made by Friedrich Wilhelm Loos sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. The coin's design is achieved through a process of die-striking, a technique that has been used since antiquity. A design is engraved in reverse onto a hardened steel die, then pressed with great force onto a metal blank. The silver would have been carefully selected for its purity and malleability to capture the fine details of the portrait and allegorical scenes. The choice of silver as a material carries its own weight, signifying wealth, status, and permanence. This coin speaks volumes about the power dynamics of marriage within royal families, forged through lineage, politics, and national identity. It reminds us that even small objects can embody complex narratives of labor, value, and social connection.