Durham Treasure Coins
1729 Gold Ducat from the Vliegenhart Shipwreck

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This beautiful gold coin was recovered from the Vliegenthart or "Flying Heart" which was owned by the Dutch East India Company who focused on the trade route around the Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies. She was commissioned in 1730 and carried 42 guns for her trade voyages. The ship sank in February of 1735 in Dutch Waters due to a strong gale that swept it into a sandbar. Everyone perished in 60' of water and attempts were made to salvage the small hoard of silver and gold that was to be used for trade but the East India Company was unsuccessful. In 1977 a team of researchers discovered a secret company map that pinpointed the wreck and salvage operations began. Below is an excerpt from online describing the "Ducat"

"The gold coins were the legendary Dutch Ducats. These coins were struck to help the Dutch East India Company establish trade markets in the East Indies and soon became one of the worlds most respected trade coins. Featuring a knight in armor on one side surrounded by the motto 'Through harmony small things increase' and an inscription on the other side which reads 'Gold money of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and their imperial law', the design remained unchanged from ruler to ruler. Some of the gold Ducats aboard the Vliegenthart were machine-made coins of the era, manufactured from hand-cut planchets on a screw press. Others, made by the ancient method of hand-hammering, have somewhat less detail in the stroke and are more erratic in shape as is typical of a hand made coin. All gold Ducats recovered from the Vliegenthart are dated 1729. They never entered circulation, and because gold does not corrode, they appear almost exactly the same as the day they were struck even after 250 years in sea water."

Read more at http://www.oceantreasures.org/pages/content/famous-wrecks/the-dutch-v-o-c-vliegenthart.html