Treasures from the Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draeck (1656), and Zuytdorp (1712) shipwrecks are highly prized among collectors, and individual coins from these wrecks have fetched thousands of dollars. Yet, what collectors often do not realize is that dealing in or possessing artifacts recovered from Australian wrecks that occurred 75 or more years ago — regardless of whether the location is known — is strictly forbidden without a permit.
Under the Australian Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018, the illegal possession of, for example, a Batavia shipwreck coin can lead to up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a fine of AUD 99,000 (± USD 65,000), or both. Supplying or even offering to supply a similar coin can result in 2 years’ imprisonment or a fine of AUD 39,600 (± USD 26,000). These rules are very strict, but until recently, they were not actively enforced, as people who broke these rules were rarely caught.
A selection of the shipwreck coins that have been confiscated by the Australian authorities
This changed in September 2024, when investigators from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), together with Western Australia Police, executed a search warrant in Geraldton and discovered three allegedly looted coins from the Zuytdorp. As a result, a 60-year-old Geraldton resident was stopped by Australian Border Force at Perth International Airport in October 2023. He was allegedly found in possession of 15 additional Zuytdorp coins and charged under the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018.
Information uncovered during the September operation led to further enforcement action in April 2025. Authorities from DCCEEW’s Environmental Crime Unit, the Australian Federal Police, and Australian Border Force seized 88 antique coins from another Geraldton property. The coins are alleged to have been illegally removed from the Zuytdorp wreck and have a conservatively estimated value of more than AUD 240,000 (± USD 160,000).
A wide-ranging investigation by DCCEEW into the suspected sale of artifacts from the Zuytdorp wreck — both in Australia and internationally — is currently ongoing. Dozens of illegal coins from this wreck have sold in recent years through various online auction sites such as eBay and Catawiki, both in the United States and the Netherlands, with a total value of thousands of dollars. Among the auctioned coins were 1711 Zeeland mint 6 and 2 stuiver coins, of which the entire mint was exclusively transported by the Zuytdorp.
All the seized artifacts have been brought to the Western Australian Museum for identification and safekeeping. Here, all other coins and artifacts recovered from the Dutch wrecks off the Australian coast are also kept. Federal Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt said the operation had returned important artefacts to the people of WA, and that the case should serve as a warning to others.
This article was published in July 2025. The amounts listed may differ in the future.