A 19th-century coin has sold at auction for more than €450,000, becoming the second most valuable Dutch coin ever.

The rijksdaalder, originally worth two and a half guilders, dates from 1898 and depicts the head of the young Queen Wilhelmina, then 18 years old.

The gold coin is one of just two ever made, making it highly prized among collectors, and was designed by the Frisian sculptor and medals specialist Pier Pander.

It went under the hammer on Monday at Heritage Auctions Europe in IJsselstein, which specialises in collectibles. The anonymous buyer paid a total of €453,600, including a buyer’s premium of €93,600.

Its previous owner, the Coenen collection, is one of the largest collections of Dutch coins in the world.

Auctioneer Jacco Scheper told RTV Utrecht: “It was spectacular and incredibly tense today. People weren’t allowed to leave bids in advance, so everyone had their powder dry and didn’t know what was going to happen.”

€1 million quarter

The rijksdaalder is a coin with a long history, dating back to the Holy Roman Empire, where its value was based on its silver content. Its English name, “Rix dollar”, was used for currencies in British colonies such as Ceylon.

In the Netherlands the rijksdaalder was legal tender until 2002, when the guilder was replaced by the euro.

Heritage Auctions Europe also presided over the sale of the most expensive Dutch coin ever, a quarter (25 cents) from 1891 depicting Wilhelmina as a child, which fetched €1,045,000 in May.

The small silver coin is one of only two of its type ever struck and the only one ever to be sold on the open market. The other is held in the Dutch national bank’s collection.