Owner Comments:
1724 Ducat Akerendam Shipwreck - Design: OBVERSE: Legend around inner circle with standing knight in full armor holding a sword and a sheaf of arrows. The arrows signify the unity of the northern provinces, which banded together and signed the union of Utrecht in 1579, which was there declaration of independence from Spain. Legend – “CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT” translates “Union Makes Small Things Grow” ~ REVERSE: Legend or motto on tablet. “MONETA ORDINUM PROVINCIARUM FOEDERATARUM BELGII AD LEGEM IMPERII” translates “Coin of the Provinces of the United Netherlands According To The Law of The Empire”
Mint: Utrecht
Mintage: 6,505
References: KM #7 / Fr.285 / Delmonte - Unlisted
Specifications: Diameter – 21.0 mm
Weight – 3.5000 g. @ 0.9860 Gold = .1109 oz AGW
Acquired: October 2006
Providence: Akerendam Shipwreck Salvage 1972
Notes:
Ø Recovered from the wreckage of the Akerendam in 1972 off the coast of Norway. All known 1724 ducats are from this wreckage.
Ø The Akerendam, was a newly built vessel which set sails from an island called Texel in Netherlands on January 19, 1725. The Akerendam was a part of the Dutch merchant fleet, headed for Batavia (Indonesia) loaded with gold and silver coins to be used for the trade of spices in the Far East. The ship got caught in a storm in the North-Sea, and Akerendam disappeared into the North Sea. The ship went down on the north side of the island of Runde on the Norwegian coast, and the whole crew of 200 was lost at sea.
Ø This date is not referenced in Delmonte's work because a ducat from this date was not known to exist at the time of his books publishing in 1962. You could reasonably assume a Rarity Scale = R.2 - Very Rare.
Ø "Nouveau" type design (Delmonte)
Ø Issued as trade coinage by Netherlands for use in their East Indies colony and issued them without change of type (except for date) from 1814 until 1938.