17th century rijksdaalder was set to be equal to from 48 to 50 stuivers (the Dutch equivalent of shillings) and circulated along with silver florins (28 stuivers), daalders (30 stuivers), leeuwendaalders (36 to 42 stuivers; 27.68 g, 0.743 fine), silver ducats (48 stuivers; 28.06 g, 0.868 fine), and ducatons (60 stuivers; 32.46 g, 0.938 fine)[1][3] silver ducats and rijksdaalders were almost of the same size and quality. With the disappearance of the original armored half bust rijksdaalder design, silver ducats and later 2+1⁄2 guilders started to be called rijksdaalders.
Unification of the Dutch monetary system in the beginning of the 18th century introduced guilder and set rijksdaalders and silver ducats at 2+1⁄2 guilders. Following decimalization (in 1816), 2+1⁄2-guilder coins were no longer produced because a 3-guilder coin was thought to better fit in the series of denominations. This turned out to be a mistake (due to the high silver price) and from 1840 onward 2+1⁄2-guilder coins were produced again. Production stopped in 2002 due to the introduction of the euro. 2+1⁄2-guilder coins continued to be called by their nicknames rijksdaalder, riks, and knaak until the introduction of the euro.
These are mintage figures for the 21⁄2-guilder denomination until introduction of the euro in 2002. It excludes the silver ducat which is still minted as a numismatic product even after 2002.
The Netherlands United East India Company (VOC) issued the rijksdaalder in the Cape Colony in the 17th century. The Dutch monetary system overseas of a rijksdaalder – or rixdollar – of 48 stuiver was continued in the Cape Province by the British in the early nineteenth century.
In Ceylon, the VOC issued coins during the 18th century in denominations of 1⁄8 and 1 duit, 1⁄4, 1, 2 and 4+3⁄4 stuiver and 1 rijksdaalder. The currency derived from the Dutch rijksdaalder, although again the Dutch rijksdaalder was worth 50 stuiver and the Ceylon version 48 stuiver. After the British took over Ceylon and the rixdollar was the currency of Ceylon until 1828. The rixdollar was then replaced by the British pound at a rate of 1 rixdollar = 1 shilling 6 pence (£1 = 13+1⁄3 rixdollars).
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Dutch_rijksdaalder, and is written by contributors.
Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.