1683

Wisselbank receipts

The bank issues receipts for coin on deposit. The balance and the metal claim can be sold apart.

The old town hall on the Dam in Amsterdam.
The old town hall on the Dam, home of the Wisselbank. Not a picture dated to the year of this page.Public domain.

In 1683 the Wisselbank issued receipts for coin left on deposit. To take the original metal out, a holder needed the receipt. To pay a bill, the balance was enough.

That split is still not a Bank of England note. London’s charter is 1694: a war loan with a note issue, not a city giro. The later collapse of the agio is the 1780s, not this year.

Bank of Amsterdam