1/2 Stuiver - Willem I

Willem I formally assumed sovereignty over the Netherlands East Indies in 1816 following the restoration of Dutch colonial authority after the Napoleonic interregnum, during which Britain had administered the archipelago under Stamford Raffles. These copper fractional pieces were among the first colonial issues struck under his name, produced at a moment when the Dutch were actively rebuilding administrative and monetary infrastructure across Java. The VOC had collapsed in 1799, and the transition to direct crown governance left currency supply genuinely disordered for years.

The three Scholten references reflect documented die variants across the 1818–1820 run.