Catalog
1 Gulden Silver Voucher
| Issuer | Netherlands Ministry of Finance |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916-1918 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Brown letterpress note with the numeral 1 at centre and repeated at all four corners within ornate guilloche borders. The heading KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN appears at the top, with ZILVERBON and the denomination Groot EEN GULDEN in bold central lettering. The note carries the registration date 1 Mei 1916, two manuscript signatures of the Agent of the Ministry of Finance and the Minister of Finance, and a lower text panel bearing the anti-counterfeiting warning, all above the legend WETTIG BETAALMIDDEL. |
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| Obverse lettering | KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN ZILVERBON Groot EEN GULDEN Wordt ter betaling aangenomen door de Nederlandsche Bank en aan alle Rijkskantoren. Inwisselbaar in zilver na aankondiging. Geregistreerd - 1 mei 1916 De agent van het Ministerie van Financiën - De Minister van Financiën WETTIG BETAALMIDDEL Het namaken of vervalschen van zilverbons met het oogmerk om die als echt en onvervalscht uit te geven of te doen uitgeven, wordt gestraft met gevangenisstraf van ten hoogste negen jaren. (Translation: Kingdom of the Netherlands Silver Voucher One Gulden Accepted for payment by The Dutch Bank and all government offices. Redeemable in silver after announcement. Registered - May 1st, 1916 The agent of the Ministry of Finance - The Minister of Finance Legal Tender Counterfeiting or falsifying silver vouchers for the purpose of issuing it or have it issued as genuine and unadulterated, is punishable by up to nine years' imprisonment.) |
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| Comments |
The silver vouchers (zilverbons) were introduced by the Dutch Ministry of Finance in 1916 as a direct response to the hoarding and melting of silver coinage that accelerated once the First World War disrupted metal supplies across Europe. The Netherlands remained neutral, but wartime commodity pressures were inescapable, and silver guilder coins vanished from circulation almost immediately. These notes were the pragmatic stopgap.
With over twelve million printed across the two-year run, survivors are not rare — but the small format made them vulnerable to heavy wear, and many were used hard before silver coinage eventually returned.