Indonesia, Batavian Republic 1 stuiver copper bonk 1803. Because of the slow delivery of coins from the Netherlands, the government in the East Indies often resorted to the manufacture of "Bonks" . These were simply lumps cut from copper (or tin) rods used for coining. This eliminated the problems inherent in casting round coins and allowed the production of large quantities of legal tender very quickly. This example weighs 17 grams and measures approximatly 21mm x 18mm x 5mm thick.

Sold Sept 2017