The Netherlands is a small European country, which, however, has a rich history, culture and strong economy. The history of its national currency is also interesting.
Today, the official currency of the Netherlands is the euro, but not so long ago, the guilders were in circulation. What kind of currency is it and what are its features, you will learn by reading this article.
Short story
Before the Netherlands switched to the use of pan-European currency, the country used the Dutch guilder. This monetary unit was put into circulation on the territory of the state in the XII century.
The silver guilder, which was adopted as the national currency of the Netherlands by the General States of the Republic of the United Provinces in 1581, was divided into twenty stavers ( loose change), and they, in turn, consisted of eight deits or sixteen pennies.
During the occupation of Holland by the Napoleonic France, the French franc became the currency of the Netherlands. After the defeat of Bonaparte, a financial reform was carried out in the country, as a result of which the guilder began to be divided by 100 cents.
Thus, the Netherlands currency before the euro was guilder, which went out of circulation in 2002. Moreover, in non-cash payments, it ceased to be used in 1999.
It is worth noting that coins of the old currency could be exchanged until 2007, and banknotes can still be changed, to be exact, until 2032.
An interesting fact is that guilders were also used in Belgium until 1832 and in some Dutch colonies, such as the Antilles (until 1940) and Suriname (until 1962).
Description
Before the euro became the currency of the Netherlands, coins were used in the country: 5 cents, which were called the stuver, 10 and 25 cents, as well as coins with a face value of 1 guilder. Coins in denominations of two and a half and five guilders were also used. On each of them was a portrait of the Dutch Queen Beatrix. The phrase “God zij met ons” was coined on the largest ones at face value, which in translation means “God is with us”.
As for paper banknotes, until the end of the 20th century, denominations of ten, twenty-five, fifty, and one hundred guilders were in use. Large bills worth two hundred and fifty and a thousand guilders were also used.
On old-style paper money there were portrait images of famous Dutchmen, and in the new version - various kinds of abstract compositions.
Euro is used today in the Netherlands, therefore the modern money of this country is not much different from that used in other countries that switched to the eurozone currency.
Exchange operations
Today, tourists traveling to the Netherlands on vacation, you can not worry about currency exchange, since the euro can be exchanged anywhere. Many even before departure, they exchange rubles for euros in Russia in order to avoid the large fees that will be taken from you at the Dutch exchange points.
Of course, you can come by taking rubles. However, remember that they can not be exchanged for euros everywhere. They work with Russian currency only at the airport, some large banks, hotels and other financial organizations.
Also, you can safely come to the country with American dollars or British pounds. There are no problems exchanging these currencies. Exchange offices also work with some other foreign money: the Canadian dollar, Norwegian krone, etc. But the points where you can exchange them are not so easy to find.
Cashless payments
The Netherlands is one of the most highly developed countries in the world, therefore, there are no problems with bank transfer here even in small towns. Plastic cards of any bank are accepted everywhere if large payment systems are used: MasterCard World, Visa or American Express.
In addition, you can easily pay even with credit cards of foreign banks, if the issuing bank has not set territorial restrictions. If, nevertheless, you urgently needed cash, then they can be easily withdrawn. Fortunately, there is no shortage of ATMs here. They are everywhere: in shopping malls, hotels, supermarkets, government offices, etc. Even on the street you can often find ATMs.
Commissions, by the way, are not too large, so there will be no problems with this.
Finally
The modern currency of the Netherlands today does not represent historical or cultural significance, which can not be said about the guilders. Outdated money from this country is very attractive to collectors, as this is the property of the Dutch culture.
The guilders have a rich history, and some instances of coins can be dated back to the Middle Ages. Not only any collector will be glad to get such a coin, but also large museums or antique shops.
The Netherlands is a country that strives to be the very first and progressive in everything, so they willingly went to meet the European Union and changed their traditional currency, which they used for many centuries in a row, to the euro. Thus, the country's authorities wanted to integrate into the pan-European economic market as quickly as possible.