Stock Mania Multi-Cache

Stock Mania(c)

You are standing in the Beurspoortje (Stock exchange gateway), which is named after the first stock exchange of Amsterdam which was located on this spot. Wall street is often referred to as the epicenter of finance, but this spot can be a good contender for being the cradle of modern finance. Nearby, in the Nes street, the first registration of company stock was open to the public in 1602. The company involved was the VOC (Dutch East India Company), the world’s first multinational company. The new stock exchange was built a couple of years later in 1611 to cater for the growing interest in stock trading.

The VOC enjoyed huge profits from its spice monopoly with Asia throughout most of the 17th century. As such, it was able to pay a yearly average dividend of 18% for close to 200 years. It goes without saying that some of its stock owners have made large fortunes as a result. This cache focusses on one such stock owner, whose family was heavily invested in the company from the start in 1602. You will find his portrait below. You can discover more about this stock speculator and its peculiar story if you can locate the symbol next to his portrait.

To do this you have to follow the walkthrough and collect ten numbers (A - J) and one word (Z) along the way. You need those to identify the different spots along the walkthrough, and also to calculate the final GPS coordinate (there is a fill-in form at the bottom of this page). 

Walkthrough

(This geocache makes use of a visit to public building which is closed on Mondays. The building is normally open between 10:00 and 17:00 from Tuesday to Friday and between 12:00 and 17:00 during the weekend. But the required information for this part can also be found online.)

Walk South from the Beurspoortje. Pass the two-faced statue and go down the nearest escalator of the Rokin metro station to one floor below (waypoint 1). You don’t have to go through the (paid) gates. Now take this escalator up again and a number (A) appears if you look upwards.

Head to Rokin house number (A + 42), where you can see the sailing ship below. The name of the corresponding ship company exists out of four words (excluding “THE”), each of which starts with a letter that is also a Roman numeral. Add those four numbers together (B).

Head to Oudezijds Voorburgwal house number (B - 851). An old credit institution is located here. Count the number of rows of the text above the entrance (C).

Head to Rokin house number (C x 9,25). Nearby you will see a free standing column (zuil). The column is a relic of a chapel that stood here from 1347 to 1908. A text is displayed on the column in which three anno years are mentioned (D, E, F).

Head to Vijzelstraat which is around a 8 minute walk. Along the way (waypoint 2) you will pass the Munttoren, which briefly housed the Dutch Royal Mint in 1672. Hence, the current name of the building (and square).

At Vijzelstraat house number (F - E - 48) enter the public building.

Inside head to the Schatkamer (Treasure room) on floor -1, which is free of charge to visit. Search the vitrines for the persons below and the year that the corresponding photos were taken (G, H, I).

Next, go to floor -2, and search the vitrines for the item below, which contains the oldest reference to the city of Amsterdam. A text with four rows accompanies the item. You need the first word of the third row (Z) to proceed. 

Head to street name Z and house number [(I – H) x 4]. Once there, inspect the white walls of the building with the (vague) red scribblings on it. If you observe the symbol, you will also be able to see (faintly) the name of the VOC speculator next to it. The final number (J) is equal to the number of letters in the name of the speculator as written on this wall (direcly to the top left of the symbol, in two words). 

Fill-in form:

After collecting the ten numbers you are able to locate the end cache, which is placed on GPS location:

N 52° 22.KLM' E 4° 54.NOP'

Where: