A chilling tale unfolds here before Akerendam. Imagine the year 1725. The Akerendam a Dutch East Indiaman sets sail. It carries nineteen chests filled with gold and silver coins. These coins were meant to buy spices and other treasures in Batavia now Jakarta. The ship the Akerendam belonged to the powerful Dutch East India Company the VOC. A member of the powerful Geelvinck family had the honor of naming it. This ship was named after their estate Akerendam in Beverwijk.
The Akerendam’s voyage was doomed from the start. A fierce snowstorm off the coast of Norway wrecked its course. The ship crashed on the rocks of Runde Island on March 8 1725. All two hundred crew members perished in the icy waters. It was a terrible tragedy. The sea claimed a valuable cargo.
Days later locals held an auction of salvaged goods. They sold barrels of French wine and other items. The following year people searched for more treasure. Their efforts yielded little profit. The search was soon abandoned. Akerendam’s story became a local legend a tale of sunken riches.
For almost 150 years the Akerendam lay forgotten. People found coins on the shore. They mistakenly believed they came from a Spanish Armada ship. Then in 1972 sport divers made a stunning discovery. They found the wreck of the Akerendam. The divers recovered an incredible hoard. They unearthed approximately 560 kilograms of coins. Two-thirds went to the divers. They auctioned them in Switzerland. Some coins now reside in museums in Oslo and Bergen. Others belong to the University of Oslo. The Runde Milj osenter now exhibits part of this treasure. It is a captivating reminder of the Akerendam’s ill-fated journey. This is the story of Akerendam a tale of ambition loss and remarkable rediscovery.