Free Coinage, the Bank of Amsterdam, and Tulipmania

[NA HOLANDA, após Carlos V, que enchia os cofres reais mudando a relação de valor entre ouro e prata em suas moedas reais] After the “Confederation of Beggars” formed in 1566, six years later the revolution was proclaimed. One of the first measures instigated by the revolutionary government was “Free” or “individual” coinage. Helfferich explains:

The simplest and best-known special case of unrestricted transformation of a metal into money is that known as “the right of free coinage,” or “coinage for private account.” The State will mint coins out of any quantity of metal delivered to it, either making no charge to the person delivering the metal, or merely a very small charge to cover cost. The person delivering the metal receives in coin from the mint the quantity of the metal delivered up by him either without any deduction or with a very small deduction for seigniorage.

The ideia of free coinage was brought to the Netherlands from the Dutch East Indians, who inherited the concept from the Portuguese. The practice was originated by the degenerate Moslem governments of India, and was copied by Mascarenhas in 1555.


Fress coinage was an immediate succerr. Possessors of silver and gold bullion obyained in America:

had vainly sought to evade the coinage exactions of the European princes; now the door of escape was open; they had only to be sent to Holland, turned into guilders andducats, and credited as silver metal under the name of sols banco."