Zilveren rijder Overijssel 1736 – Rooswijk NGC Shipwreck graded

Obverse: MO : NO : ARG : CONFOE . – BELG : PRO : TRANSI ., knight with liftend sword on horseback right, crowned provincial coat of arms underneath
Reverse: CONCORDIA . – RES . PARVAE – CRESCVNT : crowned coat of arms of the Generality. flanked by standing and crowned lions, date in cartouche underneath
 
Recovered from the wreck of the VOC ship ‘Rooswijk’
 
VERY RARE
 
This coin once had a clasp attached to it. It is said that sailors used to carry a ducaton or silver ducat fastened to their belts by a clasp when setting out on a voyage. Should disaster strike (VOC ships frequently failed to reach their final destination due to shipwreck) there would at least be money to pay for a funeral.
 
The Rooswijk, of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), was lost in a storm on January 9 1740 at the Goodwin Sands, an area of undeep waters and moving sandbanks with a length of ca. 16 km before the southeast of England, approximately 9 km off the coast near Deal. In Deal the canon shots of the Rooswijk were heard and were thought to indicate a ship in distress. The next day wreckage and a chest with letters, identifying the ship, washed up on the shore. None of the crew survived.
In 2004 the wreck of the Rooswijk was discovered by accident by a carpenter and an amateur diver. Part of the cargo was salvaged the next year. Silver ingots, coins, sabels, muskets, and utensils were recovered.