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Lot Essay
The VOC took silver ingots with them on their journeys to the Far East as raw material to produce local coins, which were used for trading during the 17th and 18th Century.
The ingots were made from foreign coins and melted into upright oblong casting-moulds. Therefore one end was flat and the other end always showed a pit or hole which was caused by congelation.
The present ingot is similar to the ingots which were transported on the Bredenhof, which sank in 1753. The ingots carried by the Bredenhof were always struck with the mark of François Engelsen from Middelburg, a scutcheon with a flower-de-luce above a dot and the initials F E. They were also struck with the mark of the chamber of Zeeland, the monogram ZVOCM.
Pol, A., Baren voor Bengalen. De produktie van staafzilver ten behoeven van de VOC, De Beeldenaar II, 1987, blz. 208-212.
The ingots were made from foreign coins and melted into upright oblong casting-moulds. Therefore one end was flat and the other end always showed a pit or hole which was caused by congelation.
The present ingot is similar to the ingots which were transported on the Bredenhof, which sank in 1753. The ingots carried by the Bredenhof were always struck with the mark of François Engelsen from Middelburg, a scutcheon with a flower-de-luce above a dot and the initials F E. They were also struck with the mark of the chamber of Zeeland, the monogram ZVOCM.
Pol, A., Baren voor Bengalen. De produktie van staafzilver ten behoeven van de VOC, De Beeldenaar II, 1987, blz. 208-212.