Silver Ounce 2020 Zuytdorp Shipwreck, Coin from Australia - detailed information

The Australian one ounce silver piece (abbreviated as 1 oz and designated with Ag for "silver") is a bullion and commemorative coin format. Uniquely, in Australia there are two mints authorised to strike legal tender: the Royal Australian Mint (which also makes the country's circulating coinage) and the Perth Mint which only makes collector and bullion coins, as well as other bullion products.

Both mints endeavour to create coins with attractive designs, and to introduce new designs and themes often, in order to raise the numismatic value of the coins over the value of previous metal used.

The 2020 Zuytdorp triangular one-ounce silver coin is the third release in the Australian Shipwreck series. The Zuytdorp follows on from the first two popular releases in the series featuring the Batavia and the Gilt Dragon. The coins were issued in Brilliant Uncirculated grade.

The exquisite design of the reverse conveys two scenes to communicate the journey of the Zuytdorp. With the image of the ship viewed upright, the Zuytdorp is shown setting sail in its full glory. Flipping the coin to view the text upright depicts the ship in its final state capsized shortly after wrecking in 1712. The obverse design depicts scenes from its dramatic story.

In 1711, a Dutch East India Company trading ship, the Zuytdorp (meaning "South Village"), set out from the Netherlands for Batavia (now Jakarta) on what was to be its third and final voyage. On board were more than 200 men and precious cargo comprising 250,000 silver coins.

After nearly seven months at sea with scurvy claiming the lives of many men, the Zuytdorp continued its journey from the Cape of Good Hope via the Indian Ocean. Zuytdorp never arrived at Batavia and with no knowledge of where it may have sunk or whether it had been taken by pirates, no search was ever made. The wreck was found more than 200 years later off the coast of Western Australia along a stretch now known as the Zuytdorp Cliffs. Divers of the wreck have reported a "Carpet of Silver" - the result of thousands of silver coins strewn along the ocean floor. These coins inscribed with "Zeeland" and "1711" helped identify the wreck as the ill-fated Zuytdorp, which still abounds in mystery today.