400 years New Amsterdam – Medal in Coincard

It is April 1625 when Dutch engineer and surveyor Crijn Fredericxsz is assigned a new task, the construction of a powerful symbol in the settlement New Netherlands in North America: Fort Amsterdam. The area, that was discovered by Henry Hudson in 1609, is becoming more and more attractive to traders and colonists. The fort would turn out to be the start of a metropolis: New York. For 400 years of New Amsterdam, the Royal Dutch Mint launches a unique Medal in Coincard.

Building Fort Amsterdam

Fort Amsterdam was the headquarters of the citadel New Amsterdam and can be seen as the beginning of the city we know now as New York. Fort Amsterdam was strategically build on the most southern part of Manhattan and became the powerful symbol of the Dutch West India Company (WIC). New Amsterdam served as the headquarters for the Dutch colonists who developed fur trade for the Company and grew into the largest Dutch colonial settlement in North America. On February 2 1653, New Amsterdam received city rights. 

Through the years, the city of New Amsterdam blossomed further and further: the absence of guilds, unlike in Europe, proved a major success. This created an opportunity for colonists to climb the social ladder. Ultimately, the English took complete control of the fort and the city after signing the Treaty of Westminster (February 19, 1674). They named the city New York.

Design

The Medal for 400 years New Amsterdam has a special obverse that contains all important elements: a small settlement is visible, that can be seen as New Amsterdam. On the foreground are Dutch ships. The reverse of the Medal has the seal of New Amsterdam from around 1654, with on top the wordmark of the Dutch West India Company and below the weapon of Amsterdam and the Latin text: “Sigillvm Amstello: Damensis in Novo Belgio”, meaning “Seal of Amsterdam in New Netherlands”. 

The Medal is presented in a matching Coincard, both obverse and reverse featuring a beautiful illustration reminiscent of old maps. The obverse depicts ships arriving on land, and the reverse depicts what New York once looked like: a small settlement with Fort Amsterdam.