Guilder facts for kids
The Guilder was a type of money, or currency, that was used for a long time in the Netherlands. Its name comes from the Dutch word gulden, which means "golden". This is because the first guilders were actually gold coins! Over time, they were also made from silver or other metals.
People sometimes called the guilder the florin. While the Netherlands switched to the euro on January 1, 2002, you can still find the guilder being used today in the Netherlands Antillean islands.
Contents
What Was the Guilder?
The guilder was the official money of the Netherlands for many centuries. Imagine using the same kind of money your great-great-grandparents used! It was a very important part of daily life, used for buying food, clothes, and everything else.
From Gold to Metal
When the guilder was first created, it was a shiny gold coin. This is why it was called "golden." Over time, as countries needed more coins and gold became very valuable, guilders started to be made from other materials like silver and then different metals. This made it easier to make lots of coins for everyone to use.
The Florin Connection
You might hear the word "florin" when talking about the guilder. That's because the guilder was also known by this name. The florin was another old European gold coin, and the Dutch guilder was similar to it. It's like how some people call a soda "pop" or "coke" – different names for the same thing!
Where Was the Guilder Used?
The main place the guilder was used was in the Netherlands, a country in Europe. For hundreds of years, from the Middle Ages all the way up to the early 2000s, the guilder was the money of the Dutch people.
The Euro Takes Over
On January 1, 2002, a big change happened in the Netherlands. Like many other countries in Europe, the Netherlands decided to start using a new common currency called the euro. This meant that all the guilder coins and banknotes were slowly replaced by euros. It was a big moment in history, making it easier for people to travel and trade across Europe without changing their money.
The Guilder Today
Even though the Netherlands now uses the euro, the guilder isn't completely gone! The Netherlands Antillean guilder is still the official money in some Caribbean islands that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. These islands include Curaçao and Sint Maarten. So, if you visit these islands, you might still see and use guilder coins and banknotes!
Images for kids
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Florence gulden (1341)
