Difference between revisions of "Gulden"

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Guffingfordian Gulden (GG)

Subdivision	1 gulden = 100 Cents (¢)
Exchange Rate to USD	1.00 : US$0.14 (free floating)
In use since	17XX
Currency Code	GG
Symbol	G

The Gulden - An Overview

The gulden (G) is the civillian currency of Guffingford, which became the only legal tender in Guffingford on a date between 1902 and 1905. The annals of that time are lost, due to a fire in the National Assembly of Guffingford. Bills were printed too, and many dates were released in a similar fashion as proofs, for collectors abroad and within Guffingford. The gulden enjoyed a long history in Guffingford even before it became the only legal tender, but that story is long and boring to write down.

The gulden is struck in nickel, cents in brass. Commemorative designs are struck in silver, while gold has been completely removed from the regular monetary traffic in daily life since 1963. Mostly because it was becoming too expensive to coin, and because of massive hoarding. The old ducat guilders are highly sought after among foreign collectors, because of the high gold content and beauty. Since none of them ever saw any circulation, these are all in near perfect condition.

History

Pre-Colonial Currency

Before explorers and settlers began to inhabit Guffingford, many tribes traded with each other through bartering. A very simple currency system existed in the lands of the Ko-I-Noor civilization, where small nuggets of gold served as currency. Some wore a stamp of a mighty warrior or a chief, but only a handful of these are known to exist. Most have been molten by explorers and pioneers in later centuries as the native tribes were assimilated into the Guffingfordian society.

The Hanseatic Thaler

By the time the late-medieval discoverers started to map Guffingford, the European Hanseatic League was in serious decline. Commerce and banking switched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic, which made trade with Guffingford a lot easier. Those who stayed in Guffingford, made up the majority of towns and cities on the new continent. To make trade with the Orient less difficult, several big companies were founded, but failed because of the fierce competition. Learning from past mistakes, the mayer of Seehoek (Janz. Sigismund) presented a plan to ally the bickering cities into a new Hanseatic League for the eastern seas. The idea worked, but it required loads of capital succeed for a longer duration.

The rich silver and gold deposits in Guffingford proved to be a valuable asset to the loca economies, and from the silver mined thalers were hand hammered in small mints. All the thalers wore the head of their monarch, Lord, senator or mayer. Because they were all handmade in the 16th century, each is unique.

The Gulden

Features

Coinage

Guffingfordian gold coins, since they were first minted as bullion in 1963 continue to enjoy a world wide audience of collectors and investors, because of the high quality and stunning design. Each year a contest is organised and the winning artist or designer is permitted to design the reverse of each coin, which makes it even more interesting to collect. Having the high purity in mind, this marvellous feat of fine engineering and design also finds a captive audience in investment circles. Furthermore, these items are sold under the worldwide gold value due to the fixed gold prices within Guffingford. These coins are resold in other parts of the world, sometimes being 150% more expensive!

From 1901 until 1963 Guffingford issued gold coins - without being on some kind of gold standard. These were issued mainly because people did not entirely trust the economies of all local cities, who each issued their own (paper) money in the void between the colonies. After independence, Guffingford made it clear to all liberated citizens it will tolerate only one currency system, decimal and supposed to make sense. From that moment on, the policy to destroy Knootian colonial money was adapted. In 1963 an official gold standard was introduced, and since then monetary stability endures.

At present, bullion coins were also available to the public, namely the one troy ounce Dukaat. This startling coin used to be legal tender until all gold and silver was forcefully taken out of circulation to fill up the national gold reserves a little more, to ensure monetary stability even further. Unfortunately, most of these were molten into bars or ingots, but some survived and were released onto the market again, mainly for the rich collector. The primary use of these bullion coins, when they were legal to pay with, was to settle buisiness deals more easy with other national banking institutes, mainly in Imperial Armies and financing (government) projects. The 1 ounce ÐG had no real face value and the actual gold value in American dollars and/or Euros. The coin was knick-named Tien Dukaat, because of its weight, not face value.

Gold and Silver Coinage

The Ducat Guilder

The ducat guilder (ÐG) and the State Gold Value are each other's equals. The value of the ÐG entirely depends on the State Gold Value, and the government tries hard to keep the value of gold stable at all times. The ÐG is used for large government transactions in gold, which are paid in certificates on demand to the receiver. Citizens can also purchase these certificates, but are unable to pay with them, since it is not legal for store owners to accept these as legal tender. All banks however are obliged to pay the amount on demand, which is paid in either gold or silver, depending on the certificate. Most Guffingfordians are not into this kind of investment, mostly because of a lack of faith in economies.

• One single Ducat Guilder weighs 0.330 grams of .983 fine gold. Since citizens have to pay in guldens to procure these, many citizens do not own them.

Gold

Silver

Exchange Rates

Here I present to you the exchange rates of the civillian gulden to other major currencies of NationStates and some real life currencies.

1 gulden is worth symbol: G (citizen currency)

Images

A modern 10 Guilder gold certificate. Note the time- and datestamp have been omitted on this design, since this is a 'proof' specimen for collectors.