Friesland 1623 6 stuivers
This specimen was lot 1638 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €190 (about US$263 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"PROVINCES-UNIES, FRISE, escalin (snaphaanschelling), 1623. D/ Écu sur une croix fleuronnée. R/ Cavalier au galop à g., brandissant son sabre. Avec certificat. Provient de l'épave du Lastdrager, une flûte de la Compagnie des Indes Orientales (V.O.C.) qui fit naufrage le 2 mars 1653 au large des Îles Shetlands alors qu'elle contournait l'Écosse pour se rendre à Batavia. L'épave fut retrouvée en 1972 par Robert Sténuit au nord-est de l'île de Yell. Elle fut ensuite fouillée par l'équipe du GRASP qui put récupérer 500 pièces d'argent, la plupart en très mauvais état. (United Provinces, province of Friesland, escalin of 1623. Obverse: shield charged on a floriate cross; reverse: a mounted knight gallops to left, brandishing a sword. With certificate, Fine - Very Fine. From the wreck of the Lastdrager, a V.O.C. Indiaman that sank on 2 March 1653 off the Shetland Islands while sailing around Scotland to Batavia. The wreck was found in 1972 by Robert Sténuit northeast of Yell Island. It was subsequently excavated by the GRASP team, who recovered 500 silver coins, most of them in very poor condition.)"
This billon type was struck 1612 and 1621-25 in Friesland. The nickname "snaphaan" ("hensnatcher") comes from the kleptomanic tendencies of the mounted knight depicted on the obverse.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.65 g, 0.500 fine silver, this specimen 5,49 g.
Catalog reference: KM 30, Verk. 128, 2; Delm. 800.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- van der Wis, Jan, and Tom Passon, Catalogus van de Nederlandse Munten geslagen sind bet aantreden van Philips II tot aan het einde van de Bataafse Republiek (1555-1806), 2nd ed., Apeldoorn, Netherlands: Omni-Trading b.v., 2009.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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