My World Crown Affair
18th Cent, Java counterstamp
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Coin Details
| Origin/Country: |
N.E.INDIES |
| Item Description: |
1RB (UNDATED) Java C/S ON MEXICO 8R 1773MO Seki Coll. C/S: AU STD |
| Full Grade: |
NGC XF Details |
| Owner: |
jgenn |
Owner Comments:
Crowns were important stores of value, especially in places of commerce lacking the authority or ability to issue them. This example is a well known silver crown of the Spanish Empire, possibly counterstamped for use on Java by the Dutch East India Company. There are official records authorizing the counterstamping of gold ducats between 1753 and 1761, which raised the value for commerce on Java beyond the precious metal content in hopes that the coin would remain in circulation. However, there do not appear to be any records authorizing the counterstamping of silver crowns (extant examples are all Maria Theresa thalers and 8 reales) for the same purpose. Nevertheless, a type of counterstamp for silver crowns, slightly different in design from the ducats, but both based on the Arabic script for Java, has been cataloged and is now recognized by NGC as such.
ex Seki Collection