One of our favourite coin producers, the Dutch-based company Numiscollect, has announced its latest coin series featuring the world-renowned producer of pottery, Royal Delft. The last remaining producer from 32 earthenware factories established in the 17th century, Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles continues to this day to manufacture porcelain of the highest quality from the central location they have operated from since 1916, at the Rotterdamseweg in Delft.

This first coin celebrates the role of the Dutch East India Company, a ground-breaking business of immense influence whose trade with the Far East made the Netherlands a great power of the age. Delft porcelain was inspired by the Chinese blue on white style and gave birth to an industry that filled a gap caused by the slow death of the brewing industries of the region.

The quality of the artwork on this coin is plain to see. Beautifully struck in sterling silver, the trade vessels at full sail are expertly realised, and the hand-made and hand-painted disc of Royal Delft porcelain inset into the coin makes each piece unique. If you have an interest in the subject, there can be little to complain about the execution here.

Likewise the obverse has had a lot of attention paid to it. Issued for the Cook Islands, these coins typically have the usual profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by a text inscription describing denomination and date. In this case it’s clear they’ve gone a great deal further. The Queens Head has been circumnavigated by an extremely intricate patterned design representative of the work of Royal Delft. It’s a great touch and one can assume the coin would look superb in a nimbus frame, allowing both sides of this large, 50mm diameter coin to be simultaneously displayed.

Unique concept coin with a real Royal Delft™ porcelain piece inserted. The piece is handmade and hand painted. The motive Dutch East India Company is related to the Netherlands and from the same time period as the Royal Delft™ started.

The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It is often considered to have been the first multinational corporation in the world and it was the first company to issue stock. It was a powerful company, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies.