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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 Ship shilling, now popularly known as the
original New York ship shilling.
These coins are all in Very Fine condition for the type,
with nice clear dates ranging from the 1730’s to the 1790’s,
which makes them all over 250 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. |
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between 6 and ST,
inside, a lion swimming in the sea.