Dutch term – Gulden, Stuiver, Penning

In many older Dutch records, you will find sums of money noted in guldens [guilders], stuivers [stivers], and penningen [pennies].

1 gulden = 20 stuivers
1 stuiver = 16 penningen

For example, fl. 2 : 10 : 1 means 2 guilders, 10 stivers and 1 penny. Fl. is the abbreviation for florijn [florin], an old name for guilder used to denote the currency.

This system remained was in use in most parts of the Netherlands until 1816. The southern parts used Flemish pounds.

In 1816, the coin system was changed to the metric system, with 1 gulden being valued at 100 centen [cents]. In the metric system, the word stuiver was still in use for 1/20th of a gulden, valued at 5 cents.

The metric gulden remained the currency until the introduction of the euro in 2002. 1 euro was valued at 2.20371 guilders.

guilder

Holland gulden of 1762. Credits: Alf van Beem, Wikimedia Commons (CC-0)

About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, MLitt, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist, writer, and lecturer in the Netherlands. She has a Master of Letters in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee, and holds the Certification of Genealogist and Qualified Genealogist credentials. Yvette served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Genealogists and won excellence awards for her articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly. Yvette has been doing genealogy for over 30 years. She helps people from across the world find their ancestors from the Netherlands and its former colonies, including New Netherland. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

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