1 Cent - Willem III Pattern

Pattern coinage from the Dutch mint in this period was driven by ongoing debates over decimal standardization and the practical shift away from pure copper toward bronze alloys — debates that consumed much of the 1850s before the Netherlands settled on bronze for its small denominations. This piece predates the official bronze cent introduction, making it part of the trial-strike program used to assess alloy behavior and die performance before production commitments were made.

Scholt I#584a is among several documented trial variants from this year. Not all saw more than a handful of examples struck.