Netherlands Silver Medal 1726 50th Wedding Anniversary of Arent Vink and Anna Nieuport - Rare EF-

Arent Vinck & Anna Nieupoort – Golden Wedding Anniversary, 1726

Obverse:
Radiant Eye of Providence above. At left an altar bearing a bowl with two hearts, symbolising the marital union. On the front of the altar appear the combined coats of arms of the families Vinck and Nieupoort. At right an eagle flies while holding a ribbon attached to a ring with the letter “L”, indicating the Roman numeral 50. Landscape in the background.
Legend: “ARENT VINK EN ANNA NIEUPOORT GETROUWT OP DEN 1e NOVEMBER 1676.”

Reverse:
Inscription in eleven lines:
“HET / VYFTIG YARIG- / BRUYLOFS FEEST / ISSELDENOYTBELEEFT- / GEWEEST, / VAN HEM, DIE DOEN HY IS- / GETROUWT, / ROYMEENEN VEERTIGYAAR / WAS OUWT, / NOCHTANS MET SOO GE- / WENSTE VREUGT / DE GOEDE GODT ONS- / NU VERHEUGT. / DEN 1 NOVEMB: / 1726.”

Historical Context:
This large Dutch commemorative piece was struck for the golden wedding anniversary (50 years) of Arent Vinck and Anna Nieupoort, celebrated on 1 November 1726, exactly fifty years after their marriage on 1 November 1676. The inscription itself emphasises the remarkable duration of the marriage and notes that Arent Vinck was already “ruym een en veertig jaar” (over forty-one years old) at the time of the wedding.

Archival records confirm the identity and family background of the couple. Anna Nieupoort was the daughter of mr. Willem Nieupoort, pensionary of Schiedam and later diplomatic envoy of the Dutch Republic, and Anna (Maria) van Loon, a member of the prominent Amsterdam regent family Van Loon.¹ The marriage between Willem Nieupoort and Anna van Loon is documented in the Amsterdam undertrouw registers of 1637, and their daughter Anna appears in family genealogies associated with that marriage.²

The husband, mr. Arent Vinck, belonged to a legal family and is documented as advocate at the Hof van Holland.³ Feudal records from the Wassenaar archives (1686 and 1690) mention “mr. Arent Vinck, advocaat voor het Hof van Hollandt” acting as son-in-law of the widow of Willem Nieupoort in matters relating to family property, explicitly confirming his marriage to Anna Nieupoort.⁴ Genealogical studies in De Nederlandsche Leeuw further identify Arent Vinck as the son of mr. Cornelis Vinck and Hadewina Verhaven, and record descendants including Johan Vinck, demonstrating the continuation of the family line.⁵

Such commemorative pieces were typically privately commissioned and distributed within the family and social network of the celebrants. The symbolism on the obverse reflects this context: the Eye of Providence suggests divine blessing on the marriage, the two hearts on the altar represent marital fidelity, and the eagle holding the ring marked “L” (50) directly commemorates the golden jubilee. These richly allegorical designs were common in Dutch family medals of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, especially among families connected to the urban regent elite.

References:
Vervloet / Van Loon (VvL) 72; Bemolt 802; KPK 2439.

Scholarly notes:

Family background of Anna Nieupoort and the marriage of Willem Nieupoort and Anna van Loon: De Nederlandsche Leeuw, genealogical notes on the Van Loon family.

Amsterdam undertrouw registers, July 1637, marriage of Willem Nieupoort and Anna van Loon (Stadsarchief Amsterdam).

Notarial records identifying Arent Vinck as advocate at the Hof van Holland.

Feudal registers of Wassenaar, entries dated 10 May 1686 and 9 April 1690, mentioning “mr. Arent Vinck, advocaat voor het Hof van Hollandt,” husband of Anna Nieupoort.

De Nederlandsche Leeuw, genealogical corrections on the Vinck family lineage.

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