The 2020 Australian Shipwreck Series moves on to a third release in the series that features one of the most mysterious shipwrecks along the coast of Western Australia. The Zuytdorp was dispatched from the Netherlands in 1711 with a load of silver coins destined for the Dutch East India Company’s trading port of Batavia. Now, 2020 1 oz Australian Shipwreck Zuytdorp Silver Coins are available to you for purchase online from JM Bullion.
Coin Highlights:
- Coin arrives in a distinctive triangular plastic capsule!
- 3rd coin released in the Australian Shipwreck Series!
- Limited mintage of only 20,000 coins!
- Contains 1 Troy oz of .999 pure silver in BU condition.
- Issued a face value of $1 (AUD) by Australia.
- Queen Elizabeth II features on the obverse along with a scene of carnage from the Zuytdorp’s sinking.
- The Zuytdorp sails from the Netherlands in 1711 on the reverse.
The Zuytdorp is a distinctive release in the Royal Australian Mint’s Shipwreck Series. While the catastrophic results of the other shipwrecks featured in this collection are known in the historical record, the Zuytdorp disappeared in 1712 and left a mystery in its wake. The Zuytdorp departed from the Netherlands on August 1, 1711, with Batavia its stated destination.
However, the Zuytdorp met with disaster along the way. The ship and its crew encountered struggles shortly into the trip. Zuytdorp’s crew was suffering heavily from scurvy and reportedly lost many sailors as it approached South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. Once it departed the Cape of Good Hope, the Zuytdorp was never seen above the waves again. For more than 200 years, its whereabouts were unknown and its demise still remains a mystery.
Queen Elizabeth II is featured on the obverse of 2020 1 oz Australian Shipwreck Zuytdorp Silver Coin. Her Majesty is shown in the definitive sixth-generation portrait for Australian coins. Designed by Jody Clark, the right-profile bust shows the Queen with the George IV State Diadem Crown. She is featured at the top point of the triangular coin’s shape, with a scene of carnage playing out beneath as survivors struggle to come ashore along a rocky coastline.
The Zuytdorp is seen sailing along the waters in 1711 in the reverse design of 2020 Australian Shipwreck Zuytdorp Silver Coins. The Zuytdorp disappeared in 1712 on the way to Batavia and speculation ran rampant about its fate. It was unknown at the time why the ship disappeared. Did it sink? Was it captured by pirates? In 1927, the wreckage of the ship was finally discovered off the rocky cliffs along Western Australia’s coast to the north of Perth.
When the Zuytdorp was first explored, the wreckage site was described as a “silver carpet.” This referred to the large debris field of silver coins from the wreck. The Zuytdorp was carrying newly-minted silver coins produced in Zeeland, Netherlands, near the border with Belgium.
These 2020 1 oz Australian Shipwreck Zuytdorp Silver Coins are available in Brilliant Uncirculated condition. The coins are housed inside of distinctive triangular protective capsules.
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