Coin Pièce Netherlands 2.5 gulden Silver Juliana 1961 Utrecht

The 2½ Gulden Juliana is a Dutch coin struck in 1961 by the Utrecht Mint, one of the most iconic minting institutions in the Netherlands. This coin is a typical representative of 20th-century Dutch coinage issued during the reign of Queen Juliana, who ruled the Netherlands from 1948 to 1980.

Made of silver with a fineness of 720 thousandths, or 72% fine silver, this coin has a weight of 15 grams and a diameter of 33 millimetres. These physical characteristics make it a substantial coin within the Dutch monetary system of the time, corresponding to the face value of 2.5 gulden.

The obverse of the coin features the portrait of Queen Juliana, depicted in accordance with the official iconographic conventions of the Dutch monarchy. The reverse displays the traditional elements characteristic of Dutch issues of this period, including the face value and the heraldic attributes of the kingdom.

With a mintage of 10,000,000 pieces, this 1961 issue was produced in significant quantities, reflecting the everyday monetary needs of the Netherlands at the time. This large mintage volume attests to the active role this denomination still played in daily monetary circulation of the era.

It should be noted that silver coins of this type were progressively withdrawn from circulation in the following years, due to the rise in silver prices which made their intrinsic value exceed their face value. This characteristic gives these coins particular appeal today for collectors and numismatists specialising in 20th-century European coinage.