Description
Dutch Republic, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, Gold Ducat, 1729, Utrecht mint. Obverse: Dutch Knight stands facing to the right, adorned in studded armour and wearing simple morion, wielding sword in right hand which rests on his shoulder and holding a bundle of seven arrows, representing the seven united provinces of the Netherlands, aloft in his left, date to field either side, mint master mark ‘rosette’ between legs, legend ending with the Shield of Arms of Utrecht as mintmark surrounds, “CONCORDIA RES PARVÆ CRES TRA”. Reverse: Legend central in five lines within square panel framed within ornate mantle, “MO: ORD: PROVIN. FOEDER BELG· AD LEG· IMP.”. Delmonte-963; Fr-284; KM-7.4. Certified and graded by PCGS as Mint State 62. Typical die work of the Utrecht mint for the period, a splendid piece despite flatness of strike, of note – the offered piece is without any known provenance but is the same year as the well-known Vliegenthart shipwreck hoard.
The obverse Latin legend reads “concordia rēs parvæ crēscunt, Trāiectum”, with an English translation of “Small things thrive/come to be through unity, Utrecht”. The reverse Latin legend reads “Monēta ōrdinum prōvinciārum foederātōrum Belgicārum ad lēgem imperiī”, with an English translation of “Money of the federated provinces of Belgium in accordance with the law of the realm”.
The gold ducat struck by the Dutch Republic was one of the denominations chosen during the Australian Proclamation of 1800 by Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales. In order to retain coinage within the Australian colony, each ‘Proclamation coin’ was given a high face value – the Ducat was revalued to 9 Shillings 6 Pence. Although a monetary piece struck for use as a Dutch trade coin, the ducat is still considered a piece of Australia’s early colonial history as a proclamation piece.