1797 in a dotted rectangle // I:S: in a dotted rectangle. 20mmx17mm, 21.08 grams. Mint of Batavia (modern Jakarta, Indonesia). KM #180.

Bonk stuivers were a type of copper coins minted and circulated in Dutch-controlled Java during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Issued by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and later the colonial government, bonk stuivers were produced locally to address a shortage of small change in the colony. They were often crude and thick, with simple markings, and sometimes cast rather than struck—hence the name “bonk,” which may derive from the Dutch word for a lump or chunk. These coins were primarily used for everyday transactions by the local population and became a distinctive part of the colonial monetary system in the East Indies until more standardized coinage gradually replaced them.