**Originally Listed At $1200**

Europe, Dutch Republic, 1722. A rare and intriguing iron coin die with a cylindrical body and circular base used to stamp the obverse side of a ducat in the Dutch Republic of 1722. Though the stamp is of course backwards, one can see from the impression that it features - a rightward facing knight in a helmet standing with one foot forward as he leans back, holding out a handful of arrows in his left hand and a long sword in his right. The fully armored and mustachioed gentleman stands between the numbers '17' and '22', indicating the year, and is encircled by the inscription "Concordia Res Parva Crescunt", which is Latin for "Union makes small things grow"; a quote that resonated deeply with the small state of the Dutch Republic who had recently acquired vast amounts of territory in Asia and the Americas. Size: 0.875" dimeter x 1.0625" H (2.2 cm x 2.7 cm)

During the 15th century, as Europe and its traders/colonizers/missionaries spread throughout the world, merchants began to shift their business currency from the florin to the ducat. Ducats served as the model for other currencies throughout Europe during the coinage reforms of the 16th, 17th, and, in the case of England, the early 18th centuries, as European rulers standardized their coinage. They were ultimate superseded by the Spanish dollar as the dominant currency of world trade due to the raw bullion the Spanish were extracting from mines in their New World colonies, but their supremacy at a crucial time in European coinage history ensured their place in history.

Provenance: ex Estate of Eldert Bontekoe, Pegasi Numismatics, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA acquired before 2000

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#158469

Expected nicks, chips, and abrasions to body and stamp. Light softening of detail on stamp commensurate with age and use. Otherwise intact and excellent.