3 Keping

The VOC struck these kepings for circulation in Sumatra, specifically through its administration at Bengkulu — the pepper-trading post the Dutch had seized from the English East India Company in the 1780s. Production was handled locally rather than in the Netherlands, which accounts for the considerable variation in fabric and strike quality seen across the type. The short three-year window of issue reflects the VOC's deteriorating financial position; the company was effectively bankrupt by 1799 when the Dutch state dissolved it entirely.