It’s establishment is very important as it was the first bank to initiate the permanent issue of banknotes (which were initially offered to raise money to fund the war against France) …

And 200 years ago today, the Netherlands Bank issued it’s first banknote, bringing the Netherlands into the modern age of money de-coupled from the coinage they were originally a substitute for, 48 years before the Federal Government of the United States entered the modern monetary age (and 121 years before the Government of Canada did the same).

I’m sure our good friend Gert van der Heijden, author of Spend Matters Netherlands (EN) over in Amsterdam is very pleased about this, because it’s yet another reason why Europe, and Scandinavia in particular, are so far ahead of us in e-Commerce, e-Procurement, and even e-Government — as they are 50 years ahead of us in commerce practices.

For those who are interested, Wikipedia has a good history of the bank note. We all take paper money for granted, but it is only recently that it has become common place around the globe.