Ceylon 1792 stuiver KM-26
This specimen was lot 44227 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $180. The catalog description[1] noted, "CEYLON. Netherlands East Indies Company. Stuiver, 1792. PCGS EF-45 Gold Shield. Struck on a crude and thick, angular flan, some design details are missing but the date is conclusive." This type was struck 1783-95, towards the end of Dutch rule on Ceylon. It was struck simultaneously with stuivers with Tamil legends (KM 27), Sinhalese legends (KM 28) and a stuiver with the denomination abbreviated "I ST" (KM 34). The Dutch type shown here is the most common.
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: 51,000 (including KM 5).
Specification: copper.
Catalog reference: KM-26.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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