Netherlands 50 Euro Silver Coin 1996 Constantijn Huygens
Commemorative issue: 400th anniversaty birthdate Constantijn Huygens (1596)
Obverse: On the right side Constantijn Huygens face profile (based on the 1641 Mierevelt painting) with a goose quill and a musical key refering to his literary and musical talents, the country estate Hofwijck and a ship that is copied after "De Zeven Provinciën" (Dutch: "the seven provinces") the flagship of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. The ship alludes both to Huygens diplomatic travels and to 'Het schip van Staat' as mentioned in Huygen's Scheepspraet.
Subject: Sir Constantijn Huygens (4 September 1596 – 28 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens.
Lettering: 1596 CONSTANIJN 1687 HUYGENS
Engraver: Willem Vis (fish beneath '87' obverse)
Reverse: The stylized pigeon and the winged Mercury helmet symbolize peace and prosperity.
Lettering: KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN 50 EURO 1996
Edge: Plain
Face value: 50 Euro.
Publisher: Royal Dutch Mint.
Mint mark: Mercury Staff (Utrecht).
Privy mark: Bow and arrow.
Composition: Silver.
Fineness: 0.925.
Weight: 25 g.
ASW: 0.7435 oz.
Diameter: 38 mm.
KM X129.
Constantijn Huygens
Constantijn Huygens (born Sept. 4, 1596, The Hague — died March 28, 1687, The Hague), the most versatile and the last of the true Dutch Renaissance virtuosos, who made notable contributions in the fields of diplomacy, scholarship, music, poetry, and science.
His diplomatic service took him several times to England, where he met and was greatly influenced by John Donne and Francis Bacon. He translated 19 of Donne’s poems and was introduced by Bacon to the New Science, which he in turn introduced into Holland as a subject for poetry.
Among Huygens’ writings, at one extreme stands Costelyck mal (1622; “Exquisitely Foolish”), a satire of the ostentatious finery of the townswomen; and, at the other extreme, Scheepspraet (1625; “Ship’s Talk”), in the language of the lower deck, and Trijntje Cornelis (1653), an earthy farce.
Huygens saw poetry only as “a small pastime,” as the titles of his poetry collections indicate: Otia of ledighe uren (1625; “Idleness or Empty Hours”) and Korenbloemen (1658 and 1672; “Cornflowers”). Dagwerck (1639; “Daily Work”), one of his three autobiographical works, provides insight into the contemporary intellectual climate.
Dutch ship De Zeven Provinciën (1665)
De Zeven Provinciën (Dutch: "the seven provinces") was a Dutch ship of the line, originally armed with 80 guns. The name of the ship refers to the seven autonomous provinces that made up the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. The vessel was built in 1664-65 for the Admiralty of de Maze in Rotterdam by the master shipbuilder Salomon Jansz van den Tempel.
The ship served as Admiral Michiel de Ruyter's flagship during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, taking part in the Dutch victory at the Four Days Fight and the defeat at the St. James's Day Battle, and acting as a command post as well as blockading the River Thames during the Raid on the Medway. The vessel performed well throughout the war, though it was partially dismasted during the Four Days Fight.
De Ruyter used De Zeven Provinciën as his flagship during the Third Anglo-Dutch War of 1672-1673. The ship served in all four major battles against the combined English and French fleet, fighting in the Battle of Solebay, the first and second Battle of Schooneveld and, in possibly its greatest moment, the Battle of the Texel. In 1674 the ship visited the West Indies.
In 1692 the ship, now armed with only 76 guns, fought at the Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue during the War of the Grand Alliance. The vessel was severely damaged during the fight and, in 1694, De Zeven Provinciën had to be broken up.
De Zeven Provinciën was 151 ft (46 m) long and 40 ft (over 12 m) wide, and had a draft of over 15 ft (c. 4.7 m). It was 1600 tons and had a crew of 420. It was originally armed with twelve 36-pounders and sixteen 24-pounders on the lower deck (although this had changed to an all 36-pounder battery by the time of the Third Anglo-Dutch War), fourteen 18-pounders and twelve 12-pounders on the upper deck, and twenty-six 6-pounders on the forecastle, quarterdeck, and poop deck.
In 1995 a full-size replica of the ship was started at the Batavia-werf (docks) in Lelystad; but due to severe technical problems that work was completely wrecked. In 2008, a new replica began to be constructed.
On the evening of October 13, 2008 a fire ripped through the Batavia-werf. Although the sailmaking shed, several office buildings and part of a restaurant were destroyed, as were the sails of fellow replica ship Batavia, the replica of "De Zeven Provinciën" nearby was undamaged. In 2014 work on the ship stopped due to lack of funding.