Coin Dealer Australia - Sterling & Currency

NETHERLANDS (OVERIJSSEL). 1620. Silver. HALF RIJKSDAALDER. 11.19g. Knight to right with sword, legend around. Coronate shield with date, legend around. Recovered from the wreck of the Batavia. 12040. Fine / Good.
Although some detail has been lost from the coin having been on the bottom of the ocean for several centuries, the major design elements remain extremely clear. A truly evocative and rare coin.

If you haven't heard of the Batavia shipwreck, you truly have missed out on a story of depravity and barbarity that is known the world over. The tale of the Batavia also has consequences for the history of white settlement in Australia - throw in a good measure of controversy surrounding the discovery of the wreck in 1963, and you have a yarn with so many threads you will want to learn every aspect of this story for months to come.

Since relocating back to WA in 2006 I've had the opportunity to meet and talk with a range of people that've had some involvement with the discovery of one of the Dutch shipwrecks off the West Australian coast - it turns out that even members of my own family have met some of the leading figures involved. The story of the Batavia's wreck, then its discovery some 300 years certainly isn't always pretty, but it sure is engaging. Not many coins offer you a direct window into an episode of world history that resonates to this very day, but coins from this wreck certainly do.

Comprehensive research has been done into the composition of the Batavia's contents by the WA Maritime Museum, the following information has been taken from Doits to Ducatons, published by the WA Museum in 1989.

There were around 9,000 coins retrieved from the wreck of the Batavia, and only 1,442 (16%) of them are officially in private hands. Just 4% of the coins recovered from the wreck were Dutch silver Half Rijksdaalders, which confirms that this coin is a very scarce representation of the Batavia's famous wealth. There were just 60 half rijksdaaldersrecovered, however only around 8 of them were regarded by the Museum as being in "Fine" condition. Just how many of these are in private hands is not known!

Consider the above statistics and you'll see just how rare these coins truly are.
This example clearly has a porous planchet (with a crack redolent of the 17th century production process), however the flan is full and round, and all of the major design elements on the obverse remain clear. For mine, the knight's portrait, with the dress and regalia that is uniwur to the period, really is evocative of all of the history that this coin has.

This particular coin has been authenticated by and registered with the WA Museum - a modest amount of paperwork will need to be completed by the buyer before the transaction will be considered complete - a scan of the current certificate is available upon request, we have the form the Museum requires and will facilitate the paperwork on your behalf.