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Description:

This silver 6 stuivers coin was minted in the Dutch city of Middelburg, Zeeland in 1780. These handsome ship design coins were known as scheepjesschilling "ship shilling." The obverse side of this coin features a large sailing ship with the inscription ITA RELINQUENDA UT ACCEPTA "Leave It Like You Received It." The reverse shows a lion in a crowned coat of arms with the 1780 date above and the legend MON NOV ARGENT ORDIN ZELAND "New Silver Coin of the Province Zeeland."
Zeeland is the westernmost province of the Netherlands and large parts of Zeeland are below sea level. The region has a history of great flooding and the coat of arms of Zeeland, shown on this coin, depicts a lion half-emerged from water. The city of Middelburg was founded in the late 8th century. By the 17th century, Middelburg became, after Amsterdam, the main hub for the Dutch East India Company "VOC."
During this period, the Dutch Empire grew to become one of the world’s major seafaring and economic powers. The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company established outposts all over the world and these stuiver coins were used in the shipping trade. Dutch ships hunted whales in the Arctic Sea, traded spices in India and Indonesia and founded colonies in the New World. Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first capitalist country in the world. This new nation flourished culturally and economically in its golden age.