Overyssel 1734 ducaton Dav-1829
The specimen is one of a type issued for the province of Overijssel. Double ducatons (Dav-1828) exist but are very rare. Each province of the Netherlands issued its own coins; besides Overyssel, there are coins for Deventer, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Holland, Utrecht, West Friesland and Zeeland, not counting various local issues. The Netherlands were swallowed up in Napoleon's empire and after his fall, reconstituted as a kingdom. The second specimen was lot 1867 in Jean Elsen sale 154 (Brussels, March 2023), where it sold for €650 (about US$842 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"NEDERLAND, OVERIJSSEL, Provincie, AR dukaton of zilveren rijder, 1734. Met kraanvogel en roosje als muntmeesterteken. Vz/ Rijder te paard n. r., springend over het provinciewapen. Kz/ Generaliteitswapen gehouden door twee leeuwen. Defect in de muntplaat. Uit het wrak van 't Vliegent Hart. Zeer Fraai à Prachtig. (Netherlands, province of Overijssel, silver ducaton or silver rider of 1734, rose mintmark. Obverse: mounted knight leaps right over the provincial arms; reverse: arms of the Generality supported by two lions. Planchet defect, salvaged from the wreck of the Vliegenthart, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
Steve Album comments in his sale 54 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2026),
"The Vliegenthart was an 18th-century East Indiaman of the Dutch East India Company. It was built in 1729 in Middelburg for the Chamber of Zeeland. Her maiden voyage was in December 1730, departing from Fort Rammekens (Netherlands) to Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia), commanded by Captain Abraham van der Hart. On February 3, 1735 the ship left from Rammekens for Batavia, commanded by Captain Cornelis van der Horst. She was accompanied by the smaller ship Anna Catherina, under command of Jacob de Prinse, and carried a cargo of wood, building materials, iron, gunpowder and wine, as well as several chests with gold and silver coins. Shortly after departure both ships ran aground in the Scheldt Estuary on the sandbanks around Duerloo Channel and were lost with all cargo and crew. In the following days, barrels with jenever, beer, and oil washed ashore on the beaches of Blankenberge and Nieuwpoort. In 1736, the British diver Captain William Evans salvaged some items, including 700 wine bottles and an iron cannon. Because of the difficult conditions there were no further salvage attempts and gradually the wreck was forgotten. It was not until 1981 that the wreck site would be rediscovered. Many artifacts, including wine bottles, bullets and an intact coffer with 2000 gold ducats and 5000 silver reales were retrieved. In 1991, a second chest filled with gold ducats and Spanish reales was discovered, as well as several cases of silver ducatons. As these ducatons (riders) were not listed on the official cargo document, it is likely they were smuggled on board by members of the crew to be sold for higher prices in the East Indies."
Recorded mintage: unknown but not a rare date.
Specification: 32.78 g, 0.941 fine silver, .991 troy oz ASW, obliquely reeded edge. The second specimen is 32,57 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-1829, KM 80, Verk. 136, 1; Delm-1036.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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 154, Trouvaille de Labuissière, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2023.
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