Ceylon 1747 bazaruco
This specimen was lot 1263 in Stephen Album sale 45 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2023), where it sold for $2,280. The catalog description[1] noted, "CEYLON (DUTCH): tin-lead 1/8 duit (bazaruco), 1747, Netherlands United East India Company (VOC) issue, date with circular impression in center as made // Sinhalese ath / mila ("hand value"), VF, RRR. For a similar example, see our Auction 19, Lot 2004 (erroneously described as a contemporary counterfeit in tin)." The Portuguese were the first Europeans to land in Ceylon and they quickly seized the coast but were unable to subdue the interior. The Dutch ousted the Portuguese in 1638 but were also unable to conquer the entire island. Fearing French control, the British occupied the Dutch holdings in 1796, which occupation was made permanent by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802.
Recorded mintage: unknown but rare.
Specification: pewter (lead/tin), this specimen 1.36 g.
Catalog reference: KM-23, Sc-1319, Zeno-173235.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Passon, Tom, Catalogus van de Munten van de Nederlandse Gebieden Overzee, vanaf 1601 tot heden, Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 2022.
- Scholten, C., The Coins of the Dutch Overseas Territories, 1601-1948, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman, 1953.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 45, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2022.
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