In 1702 the Meresteijn, a Dutch pinnace of some 826 tons under the command of Captain Jan Subbing, arrived in Saldanha Bay. The Meresteijn was built in 1693 at the Amsterdam yard for the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company.

The ship was on an outward-bound journey from Holland with a large cargo of Spanish and Dutch coins, which were to serve as pay for troops and staff at the Cape. In a strong southwesterly wind she was wrecked on the southeast corner of Jutten Island on 3rd April 1702. The ship sank almost immediately, and during the storm a hundred and one lives were lost.

Most of the coins were salvaged in 1971.