1791 Netherland Ducaton "Silver Rider" Zeeland Province

Specifications:
32.779 g, .941 fine silver, .991 troy oz (actual silver weight)
Recorded mintage: 124,000
Catalog reference: KM 92

Details:
1791 Netherlands Ducaton “Silver Rider,” Zeeland Province mint, 32.78g, .941 fine silver, with a recorded mintage of 124,000 pieces, containing approx. 126% fine silver of the standard Spanish 8 Reales. The type was struck by several provinces of the Dutch Republic from the mid-seventeenth century through the late eighteenth century. The obverse depicts an armored knight riding right, holding a raised sword and a bundle of arrows, symbolizing defense and provincial unity, with the legend “MON : NOV : ARG : PRO : CON FOED : BELG : COM : ZEL .” (New silver coin of the Province of Zeeland of the United Provinces of the Netherlands). The reverse displays the crowned arms of Zeeland in an ornate cartouche: a central shield flanked by two rampant lions as supporters, with the motto “CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT” (With harmony small things grow).

By the late eighteenth century, the Dutch Republic was experiencing economic and political strain following the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780–1784), yet Dutch silver coinage continued to be produced for both domestic circulation and overseas commerce. The ducaton originated as a large trade denomination during the height of Dutch maritime expansion, when Amsterdam functioned as a major clearing point for bullion arriving from Spanish American mines through European trade networks. Provincial issues such as Zeeland’s reflected the decentralized monetary structure of the Republic, in which individual provinces retained minting authority while maintaining broadly consistent weight standards.

This type is encountered with chopmarks but is far less common than Spanish-American dollars or later trade coinages. Examples that reached China likely traveled through Dutch East India Company shipping routes into Batavia and onward into South China trade ports, where heavier European silver coins were occasionally accepted alongside more familiar dollar-sized pieces. Chopmarked examples are considered relatively scarce.

Notable chopmarks:

支 - zhī - branch, support, pay
(partial chopmark, bottom portion missing)

Unknown symbol chopmark

Provenance:
Purchased from the November 2016 MPO Auctions (Netherlands) via Heritage Auctions Europe Sale 52 Lot #1555

Auction Description:
Zilveren Rijder 1791 (Delm. 1028 / CNM 2.49.58) met op VZ 2x Chinese chopmark - ZF