Bank of Amsterdam - Receipts

Receipts

When a holder of a receipt found himself in need of coinage, he could sell his receipt. Alternatively, when a holder of bank money found himself in need of bullion, he could buy a receipt. Receipts and credit were thus freely bought and sold. When a holder of a receipt wished to take out the bullion for which it stood, he had to purchase enough bank credit to do so. The holder of a receipt, when he purchased bank money, purchased the power of taking out a quantity of bullion, of which the mint price is five per cent above the bank price. The agio of five per cent therefore, which he commonly paid for it, was paid not for an imaginary but for a real value. The owner of bank money, when he purchased a receipt, purchased the power of taking out a quantity of bullion of which the market price is commonly from two to three per cent above the mint price. The price of the receipt, and the price of the bank money, made up between them the full value of the bullion.

The bank allowed no withdrawal except by means of a receipt. There was, however, more bank money available than the combined value of all receipts – because some receipts have been allowed to expire, but the bank money, or credit, remained in the bank's books. In times of peace, a client who wished to withdraw his deposit had no trouble purchasing a receipt and making a withdrawal. In times of distress, however, as during the French invasion in 1672, the price or receipts could be pushed upwards by demand.