3 Florins (Dutch West India Company; Recife)

The 1645 three-florins piece from Recife is a rare example of emergency currency, or obsidional coinage, minted by the Dutch West India Company during the Dutch occupation of northeastern Brazil. As the conflict between Dutch forces and the Portuguese-Brazilian insurgency intensified, supplies of precious metals and standard currency became scarce. These coins were hastily produced by stamping gold captured from the Portuguese onto square or roughly octagonal metal blanks, reflecting the urgent, pragmatic needs of a colonial administration under siege.

The design is characteristically functional, often featuring a simple stamp indicating the denomination and the seal of the Dutch West India Company, specifically the GWC monogram. Because these pieces were created under duress to pay soldiers and maintain trade during the collapse of the New Holland colony, they lack the decorative refinement of mainland Dutch coinage. They are now highly regarded by numismatists as tangible evidence of the economic instability and political volatility that defined the final years of the Dutch presence in Brazil.