(sold for $56.0)

1810, Netherlands East Indies (VOC), Java. Hammered Copper Bonk 2 Stuivers Coin.

Condition: VF+ Mint Year: 1810 Reference: KM-224.2.  State: Kingdom of Holland Denomination: Bonk 2 Stuivers Issuer: United East Indian Company (VOC) Region: Netherlands East Indies, Java Island. Material: Copper (imported from Japan) Weight: 18.32gm  Diameter: 21mm

Obverse: Date (1802) within border of pellets.

Reverse: Value (2:S) within border of pellets.

Starting from 1796, the mint in Batavia began to produce heavy 'copper bonk' (bonk being Dutch for 'large piece') coinage formed from long copper bars imported from Japan, stamped with the denomination and date were produced. The coins exhibited significant variation in weight, and were crudely made. Denominations were 1 and 2 stuivers, with a weight of approximately 23 and 46 grams respectively (equivalent to the weight of 4 and 8 individual duit). Unlike similar money produced for Ceylon, they lacked the VOC monogram.

Java (Indonesian: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea on the north. It was the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies.

The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch, literally "United East Indian Company") was a trading company, which was established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies.

The Dutch East India Company remained an important trading concern for almost two centuries, paying an 18% annual dividend for almost 200 years. In its declining years in the late 18th century it was referred to as Vergaan Onder Corruptie which translates as 'Perished By Corruption'. The VOC became bankrupt and was formally dissolved in 1800, its possessions and the debt being taken over by the government of the Dutch Batavian Republic. The VOC's territories became the Dutch East Indies and were expanded over the course of the 19th century to include the whole of the Indonesian archipelago, and in the 20th century would form Indonesia.