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2 Tangas Counterstamped
| Issuer | Ceylon (1597-1972) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1640-1642 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 23 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | G A |
| Reverse description | A VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) counterstamp applied to the reverse, depicting a stylised eagle or bird figure within a beaded cartouche, as was typical of Dutch East India Company countermarking practice in Ceylon. The surrounding field retains traces of the original host coin's design beneath the overstrike. The counterstamp confirms Dutch East India Company authorisation for continued circulation. |
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| Additional information |
Portuguese India produced the original tanga as a colonial trade coin, and Ceylon's administration — then under the Dutch East India Company following their ousting of the Portuguese — counterstamped circulating Portuguese silver to legitimize it under new authority. The VOC took Galle in 1640 and Colombo in 1656, and these counterstamped pieces fall precisely within the chaotic transitional years when Portuguese monetary infrastructure was being absorbed rather than replaced.
The narrow 1640–1642 window reflects how quickly the VOC moved to assert fiscal control before establishing its own mint output for the island.