Duit

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Dutch coin

title: "Duit" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["copper-coins", "coins-of-the-netherlands", "guilder", "dutch-republic", "dutch-east-india-company", "dutch-cape-colony", "dutch-ceylon", "dutch-india", "coins-of-the-dutch-east-indies", "dutch-words-and-phrases", "indonesian-words-and-phrases", "malay-words-and-phrases", "coins-of-sri-lanka"] description: "Dutch coin" topic_path: "geography/netherlands" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duit" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Dutch coin ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/VOC_duit.jpg" caption="Province of Holland]] on the reverse."] ::

The duit () (plural: duiten; ) was an old low-value Dutch copper coin. Struck in the 17th and 18th centuries |last1 = Hazlitt |first1 = William Carew |author-link1 = William Carew Hazlitt |year = 1897 |title = Supplement to the Coinage of the European Continent |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa5AAAAAYAAJ |publication-place = London |publisher = Swan Sonnenschein |page = 63 |access-date = 14 April 2024 |quote = The earliest duit which we have seen is of 1614; and there is also a separate colonial series down at least to 1794. in the territory of the Dutch Republic, it became an international currency. It held significant importance in both Dutch domestic and colonial trade, particularly in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). The coin had the nominal value of 1/8 stuiver.

Etymology

Etymologically, the word duit comes from Middle Dutch and means a type of small coin.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Duit_1769_-Netherlands(Zeeland).jpg" caption="Duit from [[Zeeland]] (1769)"] ::

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) commissioned a special coin with a monogram engraved on it in order to prevent smuggling. The coin was first minted during the 17th century in the Dutch Republic and was issued in the Netherlands until the year 1816, when it was replaced by cents and ½ cents. Later it became an internationalized currency and was also issued in the Dutch East Indies, Dutch Ceylon, and Dutch Malabar. Only these types of coins were valid for use in colonial-era Indonesia, where it was issued by the Dutch East India Company from the beginning till the end of the 18th century. The biggest destination for duit coins was Java. The duit was also used in parts of the Americas while under Dutch rule, such as New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) and Suriname, and in Africa in the Dutch Cape Colony.

The coin's name was preserved in the Netherlands for a long time as vierduitstuk (or 'plak'), because it was worth 4 duiten = half a stuiver (or 2½ cents).

Nominal value

According to its usage in the Netherlands, 8 duiten are equivalent to a stuiver and 160 duiten are equivalent to a guilder. When this value was applied in the Dutch East Indies colony in 1726, it was equivalent to a quarter of a stuiver (i.e. 4 duit = 1 stuiver).

Weight and composition

;Weight Various standards existed, with official weights of:

  • 4.24 grams from 1590
  • 3.93 grams in later periods

;Composition Originally duit coins were minted in copper, but proof coinage of the duit was also minted in silver and gold.

Dutch expressions

The Dutch language has many expressions, proverbs and sayings which feature the word duit, including:

  • "Putting a doit in the bag" (Een duit in het zakje doen) – to contribute a little something
  • "He is a doit-thief." (Hij is een duitendief) – he is a miser.
  • "He has a lot of kaka, but not many doits." (Hij heeft veel kak, maar weinig duiten) – he is a braggart.
  • "To have courage like a three-doit haddock" (Moed hebben als een schelvis van drie duiten) – to be cowardly
  • "To give someone four doits back" (Iemand van vier duiten weerom geven) – to tell someone the truth

Legacy

As the monetary unit was widespread throughout the Malay archipelago, the word duit eventually was absorbed into Malay vocabulary becoming a slang word for 'money' besides wang (Malaysian spelling) and uang (Indonesian spelling).

The Duit is also used in Dutch India making Duttu (துட்டு) a slang for low denomination money in Tamil.

The duit is also referred to as the "New York penny" due to its use as a Colonial monetary unit in Dutch New Amsterdam (later New York) and for years later, long after Dutch rule had passed.

The Duit circulated also in the duchy of Cleves and Guelders, which may be the reason why in the 18th century the expression kein Deut entered the German language, meaning not a bit.

Bibliography

References

References

  1. {{oed. doit - "A small Dutch coin formerly in use, the eighth part of a stiver, or the half of an English farthing; hence (chiefly in negative phrases) as the type of a very small or trifling sum."
  2. (1984). "[[Van Dale]] Groot woordenboek der Nederlandse taal (Eerste deel)". Van Dale Lexicografie.
  3. (1947). "Duit". [[Elsevier]].
  4. "Duit issued for the Netherlands East Indies by the VOC (Vereenigde Oost- Indische Compagnie)". [[Australian National Maritime Museum]].
  5. {{OED. plack
  6. (1949). "Duit". [[Elsevier]].
  7. "Duit". Numista.
  8. (3 January 2022). "Verouderd, antiek of achterhaald | Klantenservice | Ziggo".
  9. (April 17, 2025). "Metal detectorist's 'mind-blowing' Mary, Queen of Scots coin". [[The Scotsman]].
  10. "Duden – Deut – Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Herkunft".

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copper-coinscoins-of-the-netherlandsguilderdutch-republicdutch-east-india-companydutch-cape-colonydutch-ceylondutch-indiacoins-of-the-dutch-east-indiesdutch-words-and-phrasesindonesian-words-and-phrasesmalay-words-and-phrasescoins-of-sri-lanka