Netherlands East Indies 1857 1/2 cent
This specimen was lot 75069 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2022), where it sold for $144. The catalog description[1] noted, "NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES. Kingdom of the Netherlands. 1/2 Cent, 1857. Utrecht Mint. William III. PCGS MS-62 Brown. A handsome near-Choice minor, this copper beauty has a trace of electric blue tone on the sharply struck surfaces." This type was struck 1855-60, 1902, 1908-09. The Dutch hold on the East Indies in the early nineteenth century was weak and the British captured Batavia more than once during the Napoleonic Wars. Dutch control was restored at the Congress of Vienna. In the 1900's, the Dutch had conquered the profitable parts and the empire was steadily expanded to include all of what is now Indonesia by World War One. However, their establishment of schools for the natives led to the rise of an educated elite eager for independence.
Recorded mintage: 36,800,000.
Specification: copper, 2.3 g, 17 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-306.
- Peters, T., J. Scheper and J. Mevius, Muntalmanak 2018, 35e editie, Amsterdam: Nederlandse vereniging van munthandelaren, 2017.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The February 2022 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancients & World Coins, Featuring Selections from the Kings Norton Mint Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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