Catalog
500 Gulden Coin Note
| Issuer | Netherlands (Ministry of Finance) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1849 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#A18 |
| Obverse description | Brown on light-brown underprint, the note is laid out in a typographic letterpress style with no pictorial vignette. An elaborate guilloche border with diamond and circle ornaments frames the entire face, with the denomination numeral '500' repeated in each corner. The upper central band carries the inscription 'KONINGRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN' within a decorative panel, while the main text field is divided into a left column bearing the legal authority clause and a right panel with the principal denomination text in mixed Gothic and italic typefaces, including the bold Gothic 'MUNT-BILJET' heading. The lower margin contains the anti-counterfeiting law text in small letterpress type. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | van Bosse |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The 500 Gulden "muntnoot" series was issued directly by the Netherlands Ministry of Finance rather than De Nederlandsche Bank — a distinction with real consequences. These coin notes circulated alongside, and were legally interchangeable with, coinage, but the Ministry retained issuing authority as part of an older fiscal arrangement that predated the central bank's dominance. By 1849 that arrangement was already an anachronism.
The April 1945 print date places this note in the final weeks of German occupation, when the Dutch financial system was in severe disarray. P.P. van Bosse served as Minister of Finance in the mid-nineteenth century, and his signature on notes printed nearly a century after the series' nominal date reflects the long production life of certain Dutch treasury engraving plates.