10 Guilder Netherlands Wilhelmina Gold Coin | 1892 - 1933

10 Guilder, Wilhelmina — the gouden tientje

The Dutch ten guilder gold coin holds 6.056 g of pure gold in a piece of 6.729 g at 900 fineness, 22 mm across. It was struck by the Royal Dutch Mint and is known in the Netherlands as the gouden tientje.

Wilhelmina reigned from 1890 to 1948, and the coins carry her portrait at different ages — from the young queen of the 1890s to the mature portrait of the 1910s and the older head of the 1920s and 1930s. Which portrait you receive depends on the year.

Specifications

Obverse and reverse

The obverse carries the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina. The reverse carries the arms of the Netherlands with the inscriptions KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN — Kingdom of the Netherlands — and GOD ZIJ MET ONS, God be with us, the national motto that still runs around the edge of Dutch euro coins today.

A smaller coin than the francs, and why that helps

At 6.056 g of fine gold the tientje sits between a 20 franc piece (5.806 g) and a 20 mark (7.1685 g). For anyone building a holding out of historical European gold, that range of small denominations is the practical argument: you can sell part of a holding without breaking up a one-ounce coin.

VAT and UK capital gains tax

HMRC treats a coin minted after 1800 as investment gold if it is at least 900 thousandths fine, is or has been legal tender in its country of origin, and normally sells at no more than 180 per cent of the open market value of its gold (VAT Notice 701/21A). At exactly 900 this coin meets the purity test, and it was legal tender in the Netherlands, so it falls inside the exemption for investment gold.

Capital gains tax is separate: the UK exemption follows sterling legal tender, so it covers Sovereigns and Britannias but not a continental coin. This is the published rule, not tax advice — your own position depends on your circumstances.

Questions buyers ask

How much gold is in a tientje? 6.056 g. The coin weighs 6.729 g because it is 900 fine.

Which portrait will I get? It depends on the year. Wilhelmina appears young, mature and old across the series.

Is it VAT free in the UK? At exactly 900 fine it meets HMRC's purity test, and it was Dutch legal tender.

Other historical coins are on the historical gold coins page. Live quotes on the precious metals prices page.