3 - Coins in Eighteenth-Century Amsterdam

Summary

This chapter discusses categories of precious metal assets (bullion, trade coins, and local coins) and their roles within eighteenth-century Amsterdam. Bullion was valued for its fine content, but failed to meet the modern definition of a “safe asset,” because its use as a means of payment was limited by the need for assay. Popular varieties of high-denomination trade coins, on the other hand, did function more as safe assets because they circulated freely, often cross-border, at premia above the value of their advertised fine content. The Bank’s archives show that these trade coins were seen as safe enough to value by “tale,” that is, by enumeration. Trade coins were the major form of collateral held at the Bank. However, the Bank also occasionally dealt in low-denomination local coins. Local coins were rarely employed in international trade but were commonly used within the domestic economy of the Dutch Republic and nearby areas. The chapter explains that players in the Amsterdam market, the Bank included, always viewed these categories of precious metal as distinct types of assets.