Dutch guilder

The Dutch guilder (in Dutch, gulden) (erroneously known as the Dutch guilder) was the official currency of The Netherlands from the 17th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. To this day, the guilder is still used in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, although these currencies are different from those used in the metropolis. In 2004, the Surinamese guilder was replaced by the Surinamese dollar.

The Middle Dutch name, Gulden, is an adjective meaning, Golden, in relation to early gold coins. The Spanish name florín, as well as its symbol ƒ or fl., derive from an ancient currency, the florijn.

The official exchange rate was set at 2.20371 NLG to 1 EUR.

History

The first guilder was a 10.61 g 910 thousandth silver coin minted in the Netherlands and West Frisia in 1680. The first guilders depicted Athena holding a spear with a hat in her left hand and resting on her a pedestal. This guilder was divided into 20 stuivers, and each of these into 8 duiten or 16 penningen. Little by little, the guilder replaced other silver coins that circulated in each of the seven Dutch provinces, such as the florijn, the daalder, the rijksdaalder, or the silver ducat.

Florin (gulden), 1897. Holland, Queen Guillermina. Silver.

France annexed the Netherlands between 1810 and 1814 and the French franc was the legal tender. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of the Netherlands reverted to the guilder. In 1817 the decimalization of the currency was introduced, in which 1 guilder was made up of 100 cents. However, it wasn't until the 1940s that pre-decimalization coins (many of which dated to the 17th century) they disappeared from the market, while some of the new mintages continued to maintain names based on the old values of the previous monetary system.

Initially the Netherlands had a weight standard based on two metals, in which one guilder equaled 605.61 milligrams of fine gold or 9.615 grams of fine silver. In 1840 the silver standard was adjusted to 9.45 g and the gold standard fell out of use in 1848. In 1875, a new gold-based standard was adopted in which 1 guilder equaled 604.8 mg of fine gold. This pattern was suspended again between 1914 and 1925 and was definitively abandoned in 1936.

After the German occupation on May 10, 1940, the guilder was pegged to the Reichsmark with an exchange rate of 1 NLG = RM 1.50. This rate dropped to 1,327 in July of the same year. The Allied side introduced an exchange rate of 2,652 NLG = 1 USD, which was established after the signing of the Bretton Woods Agreements. In 1949, the rate was changed to 3.80 NLG = 1 USD, at the same time that the pound sterling was devalued. In 1961 the guilder revalued to 3.62 NLG = 1 USD, an approximate exchange rate of the German mark. Since 1967 guilders began to be minted in nickel instead of silver.

In 2002 the guilder was replaced by the euro. Coins could be exchanged for euros at all branches of the Nederlandsche Bank until January 1, 2007. Notes can be exchanged until January 1, 2032.

Peculiarities

Currency of 2'5 florins of 1872, Netherlands, Guillermo III. Silver.

A characteristic of the Dutch guilder is that the denominations of the coins and banknotes use a quarter system, therefore instead of having denominations of 0.20, 2, 20 and 200, there are denominations of 0' 25, 2'50, 25 and 250 guilders.

Coins

During the 18th century each Dutch province minted its own coin, in denominations of 1 copper duit, 1, 2, 6 and 10 silver stuivers, 1 and 3 silver florins, ½ and 1 rijksdaalder, and ½ and 1 ducat, also silver. For exchange coins, denominations of 1 and 2 gold ducats were minted. The Batavian Republic minted similar denominations between 1795 and 1806. The Kingdom of the Netherlands minted silver coins of 10 and 50 stuivers, 1 and 2½ guilders, 1 rijksdaalder, along with gold coins of 10 and 20 guilders. Today, silver 1 and 2 ducat coins are still minted for collectors.

In 1817 the first coins of the decimal system were minted in denominations of 1 copper cent and 3 silver florins. The other denominations were introduced in 1818: copper ½ cent, silver 5, 10, and 25 cents, silver ½ and 1 florin, and gold 10 florins. In 1826 a new gold 5 florin coin was introduced.

In 1840 the amount of silver in the coins was reduced and the 3 florin was replaced by a 2½ florin coin. In 1853 the gold standard was suspended. During 1874 the production of silver coins with a value greater than 10 cents ceased to be minted. In 1875 gold 10 guilders were minted again, and in 1877 copper 2½ coins were introduced. In 1907 the silver 5 cent coins were replaced by cupronickel pieces. Gold 5-guilder coins were introduced again in 1912, but this pattern ended for good in 1933.

In 1941, after the German occupation, the production of all coins ceased to introduce new types of zinc for the denominations of 1, 2½, 5, 10 and 25 cents. The larger pre-World War I amounts, and silver 10-cent and 25-cent coins were minted in the United States between 1943 and 1945 for post-liberation use.

New denominations of bronze 1 and 5 cent, and nickel 10 and 25 cent were introduced in 1948, followed by a new series of silver 1 and 2½ silver guilders in 1954. In 1967 and 1969 respectively, these were replaced with nickel coins. In 1983, the 1 cent coin ceased to be legal tender at the same time that nickel-core bronze 5-guilder coins were introduced in 1987, although the 5-guilder note continued to be used until 1995.

Prior to the adoption of the euro, the coins circulating in the Netherlands were of the following denominations:

Queen Juliana I Series

Queen Beatrix I Series

Tickets

Between 1814 and 1838 the Nederlandsche Bank issued notes in denominations of 25, 40, 60, 80, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1,000 guilders. In 1846 bonds (muntbiljetten) were also issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 guilders.

In 1904 the Central Bank recommended the issuance of paper money. During 1911 banknotes of 10, 25, 40, 60, 100, 200, 300 and 1000 guilders were printed. In 1914 the government introduced "silver notes" (zilverbonnen) of 1, 2½ and 5 guilders. Although the 5 guilder notes were only issued that year, the 1 guilder continued until 1920 and the 2½ guilder until 1927.

In 1926, the Central Bank introduced 20 guilder notes, followed by 50 NLG in 1929 and 500 NLG in 1930. The 40, 60 and 300 guilder notes were discontinued in these denominations during the 1920s.

In 1938, "silver notes" of 1 and 2½ guilders. During World War II the Bank of the Netherlands continued issuing paper money with some changes in the designs, most notably the replacement of the portrait of Queen Emma by a portrait of Rembrandt on the 10 guilder notes. The allied side printed banknotes dated 1943 to be used after the liberation. These had denominations of 1, 2½, 10, 25, 50 and 100 guilders.

After the war, the Central Bank issued notes of 10, 20, 25, 50, 100 and 1000 guilders. The last 20 NLG note dates from 1955, while new denominations of 5 NLG were introduced in 1966 and 250 NLG in 1985.

With the adoption of the euro, the last issues in circulation were of the following denominations: