Occurrence data on beetles (Coleoptera) collected in Dutch coastal dunes between 1953 and 1960.

The data presented in this paper has never been published in a systematic way before and has had a long journey from moment of capture to the current digitisation. From 1953 through to 1960, 100 pitfalls were active and catches were collected once a week. A total of 36,400 samples were aggregated with approximately 90,000 occurrences recorded. All captures were identified up to species level and counted and sex determined where possible. The database has been registered in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and can be found under: https://www.gbif.org/dataset/9d02b439-aa5c-4c22-b1d9-d27fbde9e3ee.