Dutch guilder

The guilder (gulden, ˈɣɵldə(n)) or florin was the currency of the Netherlands from the 15th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. The Dutch name gulden was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning "golden", and reflects the fact that, when first introduced in 1434, its value was about equal to (i.e., it was on par with) the Italian gold florin. The Dutch guilder was a de facto reserve currency in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Between 1999 and 2002, the guilder was officially a "national subunit" of the euro. However, physical payments could only be made in guilders, as no euro coins or banknotes were available. The exact exchange rate, still relevant for old contracts and for exchange of the old currency for euros at the central bank, is 2.20371 Dutch guilders for 1 euro. Inverted, this gives 0.453780 euros for 1 guilder. Derived from the Dutch guilder are the Netherlands Antillean guilder (still in use in Curaçao and Sint Maarten) and the Surinamese guilder (replaced in 2004 by the Surinamese dollar). The gulden emerged as the official currency of the Burgundian Netherlands after the 1434 monetary reform done under Philip the Good. This table summarizes the gulden's value in terms of silver until the gold standard was introduced in 1875. Prior to 1434 the Dutch issued currency conforming to the Carolingian monetary system, with the Pound divided into 20 shillings and the shilling divided into 12 pennies. Dutch versions of the penny first came out in the 9th century, followed by local versions of the one-shilling gros tournois in the 13th century. The most notable version of the latter, the Flemish grote, subsequently depreciated faster than its counterparts in France, from its initial fine silver content of 4.044 g, to around 2.5 g by 1350 AD, and to just 0.815 g before the reforms of 1434. Philip the Good devised a monetary system in 1434 relating the new Dutch currency to that of its neighbors: the French livre parisis of 38.25 g silver, and the English pound sterling of 215.8 g.