|
In the 1600’s, the “Golden Age” of Dutch history, the
Netherlands became a great sea and colonial power. This was
due, in no small part, to the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde
Oostindishche Compagnie, or VOC, in Dutch). The VOC was the
first company in the world to issue stock, and by 1669, it
had become the richest private company the world had ever
seen, with over 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000
employees, and a private army of 10,000 soldiers. The VOC
assumed many of the functions of the government of the
Netherlands, including minting coins, which circulated
wherever the Dutch settled or traded.
Manhattan was discovered in 1609 (believe it or not, on
September 11, 1609) by Henry Hudson, commander of the VOC
ship, the Half Moon. The province of New Netherland (which
later became the State of New York) was created in 1624. Its
capital was New Amsterdam, which lay on the southern tip of
Manhattan— “purchased” from the Indians by Peter Minuit for
$24 in trade goods. Of course, the Indians had no concept of
land ownership, and only later discovered what the Dutch had
in mind when they were handing out trinkets.
Because the Dutch were instrumental in the
early development of New York, Dutch coinage
joined the Spanish, Portuguese, and British
coins that were used for daily transactions
all over the American colonies. One of the
coins used in old New York was the VOC
Silver knight shilling, now popularly known
as the original New York knight shilling.
These coins are all in Very Fine condition for the type,
with nice clear dates ranging from the 1630’s to the 1700’s,
which makes them all over 335 years old. This is a terrific
opportunity to acquire some interesting examples of an
important early American colonial coin type— at an extremely
low price. |
