Another was, to prevent the inconveniencies to which a small state was exposed, by the introduction of bad coin, from all the neighbouring countries in Europe, with whom they traded.
In the territory of Holland there are no mines of gold and silver; consequently all they have comes from other countries, as the return of a favourable balance upon their commerce.
At the time the bank was established, the republic was in a state of infancy; and any coin they had, was that of their old masters the Spaniards. This was unequally coined; many pieces were light; many had been clipped and washed. As they extended their traffic, they were obliged to receive great quantities from Germany, which was still worse.
In order then to prevent the circulation of such coin, and the perplexities occasioned by it in all accounts, they established a bank, and fixed the standard upon a silver coin called the ducatoon, to which they gave the denomination of 3 florins or guilders bank money.
But as this coin also was unequal, like all the rest of the specie in Europe, before the introduction of milled coin, and the policy of weighing piece by piece at the mint, the bank appointed the ducatoons to be received in bags of 200 pieces, weighing together 26 marcs 5 ounces 10 engles of Amsterdam troes, or gold weight; which being reduced to aces, (the lowest denomination in this weight) make 136,640 aces. This divided by 200, gives, for the weight of 1 ducatoon, 683.2 aces.
Let us now convert these aces into troy grains, according to the proportion established between Dutch aces and troy grains, in the last chapter of the third book.
The equation will stand thus,
5192.8 aces, being equal to 3840 troy-grains, 683.2 aces, therefore, will equal 505.21 troy-grains; which, consequently, is the weight of a ducatoon, or of 3 florins bank money of Amsterdam.
Next as to the fineness of this coin:
The ducatoon was coined, according to the imperial standard, of 14 loots 16 grains fine: that is to say, it is 268⁄288 parts fine, and 20⁄288 parts alloy.