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De Witt Brothers Assassination Medal 1672


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DSCF0846.jpgElectrotype copy of the De Witt Brothers Assassination medal.

IILVSTRISSIMI. FRATRES. IOHAN: ET. CORNEL: DE. WITT

48mm coppered 22gram.

The original medal was struck in two sizes 48mm silver and 51mm WM. The design has some subtle differences between the two sizes. They both had edge inscriptions, the silver was in latin, WM in dutch.

 

"Historic 1672 De Witt Brothers Assassination Medal

1672 De Witt Brothers Assassination Dutch Medal Commemorating the murders of Johan and Cornelius De Witt in 1672, this Dutch medal features the conjoined busts of the brothers facing right and the Latin legend ILLVSTRISSIMI FRATRES JOHAN ET CORNEL DE WIT (the distinguished brothers Johan and Cornelius De Witt). An eight-line Dutch inscription within an ornate border fills the reverse. .Johan, a leading statesman in Holland, was unpopular with the general populace due to his pro-French sentiments. He was lured into visiting his brother in prison, but it was an elaborate trap plotted by his political enemies. Once he arrived at the jail, an angry mob murdered him and his brother--their bodies torn to pieces and put on public display"

 

Though the quotation above states Johan was killed because of his pro-French stance that was not really the case. De Witt had opposed making the young William of Orange(later to be William III of England) Statholder for life because he wanted to protect the Repulic from monarchy. The French(Louis XIV) had rapidly conquered all but 2 of the 7 Provinces and De Witt wanted to either negotiated for better terms, before the remaining provinces were defeated, or at least buy some time with the negotiations to prepare some defences.

 

Both the brothers were in fact true Dutch republican patriots, who, though they opposed the House of Orange's ambition to be rulers of the Netherlands, were in no way pro-French.

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  • 4 years later...

I took a look at the WM version of this medal I have. It is 51mm, 25.5gms with the edge is inscribed in Dutch. Oddly, there appear to be more raised "rims" than on the silver version and leaves me with the impression that the outermost rim is attached (like a mount) but not part of the medal itself.

 

 

De%20Witt%20obv.jpg

De%20Witt%20rev.jpg

 

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