Los 433

Tin doit ND (1796) - 7.43 g. Emergency issue (Ref. Scho.485§; Passon - ; N.vdCh. 30; ZENO 310288) - The Company's bale-mark, surmounted by a B (Batavia) / rev.: D U I T, with round hole in centre._x000D_ On May 5, 1796 it was suggested that to meet the acute scarcity of doits, to strike tin doits. For this purpose they got in touch with the ‘burger-heemraad’ TEISSEIRE, who took tests, did some calculating and proposed “that within 8 days one picul of doits a day could be produced, soon after that two or three a day and within a month, 10 a day”. These doits were made current on May 26, 1796, simultaneously with “bonks”. The contractor made the mistake of not only commissioning Chinees pewterers to supply the blanks but also allowing them to produce the iron dies, with the result that a large number of counterfeit doits alloyed with lead were made. The fraud was detected and the doits of this coinage were not put into circulation. The doits that had already been struck, were melted down and as far as was known to Netscher/v.d. Chijs and Scholten, there were no longer any of them in existence. Nevertheless one (ZENO 310304) or perhaps two more specimen are presently known. Chisel-mark across the obverse, perhaps applied for demonetizing the issue. Exceptionally rare R4 - VF