The Value of Money

Whoever has the right to make coins decides what they look like, how much precious metal they contain, and their value. For centuries, gold and silver coins have crisscrossed the world through commercial networks. Coins that don’t contain much gold and silver usually circulate locally, because elsewhere the value of the metal is the most important thing. For a long period the Amsterdam Exchange Bank (Wisselbank) was an important hub for the precious metal trade, with much of the silver that Spain was taking from Spanish America finding its way to Amsterdam during the 80 Years’ War. Spanish treasure fleets continued to sail from Spain to the Dutch Republic until deep into the 18th century. From Amsterdam, the money then spread all over the world, partly through the voyages of the Dutch East India Company to Asia.