ABSTRACT
Sources: MCCUSKER / HART [1979], pp. 701f. (1593-1622); POSTHUMUS [1946], vol. I, pp. 590-595 (1609-1699); IISG Amsterdam, Corso delli Cambiati in Amsterdam (1700-1711); ibid., Cours van Koopmannschappen tot Amsterdam (1701-1731); ibid., Cours des Marchandises (1731-1748); ibid., Cours der Koopmannschappen (1732-1789); Prijscourant der Effecten (1796-1842); Amsterdamsch Effectenblad (1843-1913); De Nederlandsche Financier – Dagelijksche Beurscourant (1914). Concordance: WdW III, pp. 39-94; WdW VI, pp. 57-124; HStD XII, pp. 65-102; WdW I/II, pp. 111196; HStD XI, pp. 563-581
Currency: The high stability of the currency in Holland and in the whole United Netherlands from the end of the 17th century was one of the most important factors in the pre-eminence of Amsterdam as an international exchange market and financial centre in the 17th and 18th centuries. While there was quite a large number of different coexisting coins, “the money of account at Amsterdam was expressed in two interconnected sets of moneys reflecting in their origin something of the divergent political and economic background of the area” (MCCUSKER [1978], pp. 42f.), the pound system and the guilder system:
– 1 pound Flemish (pond-Vlaamsch) = 20 shillings Flemish (schelling-Vlaamsch) = 240 groot – 1 guilder (gulden, florijn) = 20 stivers (stuiver) = 320 penning
Therefore, one can reckon as follows:
Until well into the 17th century the way of quoting and accounting in pounds (pond) and shillings Flemish remained dominant. Nevertheless, the data series has been completely converted for the records into guilders, the main unit of account by the beginning of the 18th century (cf. LE MOINE DE L’ESPINE [1710], p. 13; HERBACH [1716], p. 66) in order to ensure the comparability of the quotations over a long period. Principally, the Wisselbank at Amsterdam, founded in 1609, calculated in guilders and, as a consequence, the wholesale trade followed suit. This guilder of the Wisselbank – the socalled ‘guilder banco’ or ‘bank guilder’ – became not only “a money of account, whose value was determined fundamentally by the combined silver content of the rijksdaalers, leeuvendaalers, patacons and ducatons” (VAN DER WEE [1977], pp. 338f.), but also one of the most important and most stable exchange monies throughout Europe: “In 1638 the city council settled its silver currency, in particular the ratio of the current guilder vis-à-vis the guilder of account. As a result, the bank guilder was officially disentangled from its current counterpart. In 1659 the States General followed suit. A major consequence was extreme stability in the value of the guilder” (DEHING / ’T HART [1997], p. 40). The basis of the guilder banco was the rixdollar, issued according to the standard of coinage of the Holy Roman Empire during the 16th century (rijksdaaler; 25.99 grammes of pure silver, from 1616
1 pound Flemish = 6 guilders = 20 shillings = 120 stivers = 240 groot = 1,920 penning 1 guilder = 3 2/3 shillings = 20 stivers = 40 groot = 320 penning
1 shilling = 6 stivers = 12 groot = 96 penning 1 stiver = 2 groot = 16 penning
1 groot = 8 penning
Netherlands ousted the rixdollar from the money circulation, the latter was officially accepted and minted as zilveren dukaat (24.66 grammes of pure silver) at 50 stivers current and at 48 stivers banco only in the United Netherlands after a change of the standard of coinage in 1659. Therefore a nominal relation of 48 guilders banco = 50 guilders current was established from 1659. From 1648, the guilder banco was quoted in the price currents of the Amsterdam stock exchange:
Annual average premium, 1794-1802 and 1810 discount of Flemish banco against Flemish current
Source: WdW III, p. 95; HStD XII, pp. 103-107
Thus bank money became the dominant element of Dutch currency by the second half of the 17th century, since it symbolized, as clearing unit of the Wisselbank, the stability of the Dutch currency on the international financial markets. That is why the data in the price currents of the Amsterdam stock exchange are quoted consistently in bank money from 1683 on. From 1681, the guilder (1 zilveren dukaat = 2½ guilders current) was the basic silver coin of Amsterdam and Holland, henceforth issued at 9.59 grammes of pure silver; other provinces followed in 1686. In 1694, the currency system of the
1651 3.25 ... 1744 4.96 1781 4.74 ... 1708 4.82 1745 4.96 1782 4.85 1653 2.00 1709 4.81 1746 4.87 ... 1654 1.97 1710 4.71 1747 4.56 1784 3.74 ... 1711 4.29 1748 4.77 1785 2.93 1661 3.30 1712 3.79 1749 4.65 1786 2.56 1662 3.32 1713 4.44 1750 4.60 1787 3.31 1663 3.19 1714 4.44 1751 4.90 1788 2.77 1664 3.25 1715 5.00 1752 4.50 1789 2.56 1665 3.25 1716 5.17 1753 4.62 1790 0.62 ... 1717 4.69 1754 4.54 1791 0.21 1674 4.30 1718 4.70 1755 4.15 1792 0.59 1675 3.57 1719 4.85 1756 4.19 1793 1.56 ... 1720 4.47 1757 3.75 1794 –3.01 1679 4.10 1721 5.50 1758 3.35 1795 –9.33 ... 1722 5.21 1759 2.27 1796 –0.56 1682 4.25 1723 4.97 1760 3.03 1797 –3.20 ... 1724 4.58 1761 4.51 1798 –4.51 1686 5.19 1725 4.43 1762 3.02 1799 –7.53 ... 1726 4.86 1763 2.32 1800 –7.69 1688 4.99 1727 4.98 1764 3.08 1801 –7.57 1689 4.07 1728 4.79 1765 3.73 1802 –0.67 1690 4.25 1729 4.79 1766 4.75 1803 4.88 ... ... 1767 4.81 1804 4.39 1692 5.07 1731 4.48 1768 4.59 1805 4.78 1693 6.13 1732 4.13 1769 4.87 1806 3.91 1694 4.63 1733 3.91 1770 4.91 1807 3.58 ... 1734 4.27 1771 4.84 1808 3.00 1698 5.13 1735 4.00 1772 4.67 1809 2.69 1699 5.44 1736 3.86 1773 4.64 1810 –0.08 1700 5.00 1737 4.05 1774 4.69 1811 1.74 1701 4.62 1738 4.41 1775 4.63 1812 3.71 1702 4.50 1739 5.15 1776 4.71 1813 2.34 1703 2.94 1740 5.22 1777 4.88 1814 2.75 1704 3.19 1741 4.61 1778 4.64 1705 3.44 1742 4.46 1779 4.60 1706 5.61 1743 4.82 1780 4.52
Changes in the currency system of the Netherlands did not occur until the eras of the Batavian Republic (1795-1806), the Kingdom of Holland (1806-1810) and the occupation by the French Empire – intensified by the Napoleonic Wars and the Continental System – but these periods remained without influence on the way of quoting exchange rates. By the Coin Act of September 28th 1816, the Dutch guilder at 100 cents with a weight of 9.613 grammes of fine silver (by the act of March 22nd 1839 reduced to 9.45 grammes of fine silver) or 0.6056 grammes of fine gold was declared national currency in the new Kingdom of the Netherlands. As a consequence of the Coin Acts of November 26th
1847 and June 9th 1850, this officially bimetallistic, but at most times de facto, gold standard was superseded by a pure silver standard with remarkable issues of notes of the Nederlandsche Bank (founded in 1814). Following the example of the neighbouring European states, the gold standard was introduced by the Coin Acts of June 6th 1875 and May 10th 1876 (1 guilder equal to 0.6048 grammes of fine gold). Owing to the extremely small gold reserves of the Nederlandsche Bank, however, the silver coins and banknotes (legal tender by the Coin Act of July 18th 1904) determined the internal money circulation of the Netherlands up to World War I.
