Weird Dutch 1/4 Gulden? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 398
Nocreativity2 New Member Canada 18 Posts	Posted 01/20/2025 2:34 pm Hello, I recently acquired this piece as a part of the lot. Obviously it is trying to imitate a Dutch 1/4 Gulden with a bust of Wilhelmina, but the text is all gibberish and I am unable to find any information on Google. Let me know if you have any ideas Report this Post to the Staff

realeswatcher Pillar of the Community United States 1932 Posts	Posted 01/20/2025 4:51 pm First guess would be some sort of Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) contemporary counterfeit. Report this Post to the Staff
Spence Moderator United States 32709 Posts	Posted 01/20/2025 8:38 pm Could it be a modern counterfeit? Lots of Chinese fakes from the late 1990s and early 2000 had comically mis-spelled inscriptions. Or is this "close-enough" that it credibly could have been used in commerce? It looks to me like the shield might have a little circulation wear on it. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
NumisEd Pillar of the Community United States 4375 Posts	Posted 01/21/2025 11:19 am Strange coin. Report this Post to the Staff
BCTokens Valued Member Canada 109 Posts	Posted 01/21/2025 12:23 pm The obverse of your piece resembles the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina used on Netherlands coins from 1898 to 1908, except that the text is gibberish. The reverse resembles the same coins, but only values of 1/2 guilder or higher. There was no Netherlands 1/4 guilder coin. This denomination has the text 25 cents and an oak wreath. As it doesn't match any existing coin, it seems to be more likely a fantasy piece than a counterfeit. What size is it? Jan Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16181 Posts	Posted 01/21/2025 9:49 pm Quote: There was no Netherlands 1/4 guilder coin. This denomination has the text 25 cents and an oak wreath. True, but the Netherlands Indies did have 1/4 guilder denominations, and with the exception of the garbled lettering, the 1/4 guilder of 1903-1909 strongly resembles the reverse of this object - but not the obverse. This bespeaks to me a probable Indonesian origin for this piece, and also suggests a probable date of creation, from 1903 up into the 1940s I would suggest. The purpose of such pieces is of course the puzzle. I would suggest they were likely made as imitation coins for jewellery - and deliberately made with garbled lettering so as not to be accused of making or selling counterfeit coins, when their intent is for fastening them onto bracelets etc. Southeast Asia (both Indonesia and Malaysia) has a strong tradition of making bracelets, necklaces and other jewellery out of small silver colonial coins. EBay example. The odd "delamination damage" on the obverse of this item also suggests it was possibly originally attached to something, then torn apart again. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
BCTokens Valued Member Canada 109 Posts	Posted 01/21/2025 11:50 pm The point I was trying to make was that the OPs piece strongly resembles the Netherlands 1/2 guilder, not the Netherlands Indies 1/4 guilder, and therefore the Netherlands coin was the model for the piece. See below and compare to the original image. (not my images). This doesn't eliminate the possibility that it was manufactured in the Netherlands Indies for the reasons you mention. Jan Report this Post to the Staff
Nocreativity2 New Member Canada 18 Posts	Posted 01/22/2025 8:56 pm The coin weighs 3.8g and the diameter is 22mm. Report this Post to the Staff
Nocreativity2 New Member Canada 18 Posts	Posted 01/22/2025 8:58 pm @BCTokens, I also noticed that it used the Netherlands design rather than the East Indies version. I wonder if both circulated in Indonesia at the time? Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 8 / Views: 398

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