2 Stivers Gold

Zeeland's gold 2 stivers occupies an odd corner of Dutch provincial coinage — a fractional gold piece whose practical utility was limited almost from the outset. By the mid-eighteenth century, the Dutch Republic's monetary system was increasingly strained by decades of war financing and the declining dominance of the VOC, and provincial mints like Zeeland's were producing small-denomination gold partly to satisfy bullion obligations rather than genuine commercial demand. The Middelburg mint, which struck this type, lost its authorization entirely not long after.