The History of the VOC__Story

The Dutch East India Company, often referred to as the VOC, the acronym of the company's name in Dutch, was established by the States-General of the Netherlands in 1602. It is considered the first multinational corporation and was initiated to fulfill colonial and trade activities in Asia.

Not only was the VOC company the first entity to issue stock, it also had the power to wage war, negotiate treaties, establish colonies and mint coins. Due to a shortage of currency in the 18th century, the VOC duit, copper coin, was minted from 1726-94. While the VOC logo was always on the front-side, there were four different back-side designs. The coins used in this item features the coats of arms of Utrecht.

The VOC coin were most widely circulated in the Netherlands and in their South Asian colonies but also became well established in New Amsterdam, later New York City, such that they were used even after Dutch authority passed. The image on the right is a map of New Amsterdam in the 17th century.