 | |
| Company type | Naamloze vennootschap owned by Belgian Heylen Group |
|---|---|
| Industry | coin production |
| Founded | 1567, Utrecht [ citation needed ] |
| Headquarters | Utrecht, Netherlands |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bert van Ravenswaaij (Muntmeester) |
| Products | coins / medals |
| Website | www |
The Royal Dutch Mint (Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt, abbreviated KNM) based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, is a company owned by Heimerle + Meule. It was established and previously owned by the Dutch state.
On 17 September 1806, when The Netherlands were under the rule of King Louis Napoleon, he decided that the striking and distribution of coins should be by a single, national body. [1] This was in contrast to the Middle Ages custom of large trading cities having their own mint and coins, which resulted in several coins circulating within the country, and many levels of controlling bureaucracy.
Originally it was the intention to found the mint in the capital city of Amsterdam but, since there was insufficient finance available, it was decided to locate the National Mint seat in Utrecht.
After Napoleon was defeated in 1813, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded with William I as King, the Mint was renamed as 's Rijks Munt. What is now known as Belgium was a part of the new kingdom, and a second Mint was located in Brussels. [2] When Belgium achieved independence in 1839, the Rijks Munt became the only mint in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The provincial coins had been minted before the unification of the Mint were still in circulation. Due to their relatively high intrinsic value, the "new" coins would only gain popularity with the passage of time. In 1849 the provincial coins were officially taken out of circulation.
In 1901 [3] the company was placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, and in 1912 the Mint officially became a company owned by the State. [4] At the end of the German occupation during the Second World War, in 1944, coins were produced in the United States. This was necessary to ensure that there would be enough currency available after the liberation. [5]
In 1994 's Rijks Munt was renamed as De Nederlandse Munt NV . It became a company, 100% of whose shares are owned by the Dutch State. The Queen awarded the company the prefix Koninklijk (Royal) five years later, and the company was now allowed to call itself De Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (The Royal Dutch Mint). [6] On 22 November 2016 the Royal Dutch Mint was sold to the Belgian Groep Heylen. [7]
Since 2002 the Royal Dutch Mint has been allowed to strike coins for foreign national banks in the euro zone, and occasionally strikes coins for other countries such as Guatemala and Honduras. Furthermore, the Dutch Royal Mint produces commemorative coins, coins intended for collectors, medals and royal decorations.
The Royal Dutch Mint was also delegated the task of destroying the old guilders after their replacement by the euro in 2002.
There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros. The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone has its own design on the obverse, which means that each coin has a variety of different designs in circulation at once. Four European microstates that are not members of the European Union use the euro as their currency and also have the right to mint coins with their own designs on the obverse side.
Dutch euro coins currently use two designs by Erwin Olaf, both of which feature a portrait of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. The new designs began circulating in 2014. Dutch Euro coins minted from 1999 to 2013 feature a portrait of Queen Beatrix designed by Bruno Ninaber van Eyben. All coins share the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint in their design.
The Napoléon is the colloquial term for a former French gold coin. The coins were minted in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, and 100 francs. This article focuses on the 20 franc coins issued during the reign of Napoléon Bonaparte, which are 21 mm in diameter, weigh 6.45 grams and, at 90% pure, contain 0.1867 troy ounces (5.807 g) of pure gold. The coin was issued during the reign of Napoleon I and features his portrait on the obverse. The denomination continued in use through the 19th century and later French gold coins in the same denomination were generally referred to as "Napoléons". Earlier French gold coins are referred to as Louis or écu. Gold Napoléons have historically proven more resilient than other gold coins to economic forces, such as after the Suez crisis when unlike other coins Napoléons did not weaken.
The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a centiem in Dutch, centime in French or a Centime in German.
The guilder or florin was the currency of the Netherlands from 1434 until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro.
The stuiver was a coin used in the Netherlands, worth 1⁄20 Dutch Guilders. It was also minted on the Lower Rhine region and the Dutch colonies. The word can still refer to the 5 euro cent coin, which has almost exactly the same diameter and colour despite being over twice the value of the older coin.
The Netherlands Antillean guilder is the currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 cents. The guilder was replaced on 1 January 2011 on the islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius by the United States dollar.
The rijksdaalder was a Dutch coin first issued by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in the late 16th century during the Dutch Revolt which featured an armored half bust of William the Silent. It was the Dutch counterpart of the Reichsthaler of the Holy Roman Empire but weighed slightly less, at 29.03 g of 0.885 fine silver, reduced to 0.875 fine by the 17th century. Friesland, Gelderland, Holland, Kampen, Overijssel, Utrecht, West Friesland, Zeeland, and Zwolle minted armored half bust rijksdaalders until the end of the 17th century.
The Netherlands Indies guilder was the unit of account of the Dutch East Indies from 1602 under the United East India Company, following Dutch practice first adopted in the 15th century. A variety of Dutch, Spanish and Asian coins were in official and common usage. After the collapse of the VOC at the end of the 18th century, control of the islands reverted to the Dutch government, which issued silver 'Netherlands Indies' guilder and fractional silver and copper coins until Indonesian independence in 1945.
The Dutch Five guilder coin was the highest-denomination coin in the Netherlands from its introduction in 1988 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. Its nominal value was ƒ 5,-.
The Dutch One guilder coin struck under the reign of King William II was a unit of currency in the Netherlands.
The Dutch 1 guilder coin struck under the reign of Queen Wilhelmina was a unit of currency in the Netherlands.
The One guilder coin was a coin struck in the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1818 and 2001. It remained in circulation until 2002 when the guilder currency was replaced by the euro. No guilder coins were minted in the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.
Before the introduction of the euro, the current eurozone members issued their own individual national coinage, most of which featured mint marks, privy marks and/or mint master marks. These marks have been continued as a part of the national designs of the euro coins, as well. This article serves to list the information about the various types of identifying marks on euro coins, including engraver and designer initials and the unique edge inscriptions found on the €2 coins.
Koninklijke Wegener NV was a Dutch publisher of newspapers. It was the largest publisher of daily regional newspapers, free local newspapers and special interest magazines in the Netherlands. It also sold internet products and graphical products. The company ceased to exist when it was acquired by Belgian media company De Persgroep in 2015.
The Caribbean guilder is a planned currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, two constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, officially slated for introduction in 2024. The Caribbean guilder is set to replace the Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) at par and be pegged to the U.S. dollar. The currency has an official launch scheduled for the second half of 2024; however, the launch has reportedly been pushed to 31 March 2025, pending confirmation from the ministry of finance. It is divided into 100 cents.
The Royal Mint of Belgium was responsible for minting all official coins of Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 to 2017. As of 2018 the official legal tender of Belgium are the euro and euro cent coins. It is under the control of the Belgian Administration of the Treasury. As of 2018, the mint still exists but no longer strikes coins and is instead responsible for ordering them from the Netherlands. The coins minted are distributed by the National Bank of Belgium.
HNLMS De Ruyter, was a unique ship built for the Royal Netherlands Navy. She first served as a heavy sailing frigate. Next she was rebuilt as a steam frigate, but she was never finished as such. She was finally rebuilt and served as a Casemate ironclad comparable to the CSS Virginia.