Weights, Measures, and Coinage in New Netherland

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: New Netherland
Surname/tag: new_netherland

Contents 1 Measurements of Value and Quantity in New Netherland 1.1 Units of measure 1.2 Money 1.3 Wampum

Measurements of Value and Quantity in New Netherland

Aside from the beaver (one beaver pelt), which was seemingly the fundamental standard of value in the New Netherland economy, the units of measure and value cited in New Netherland records can be difficult to understand. The New Netherland Institute maintains a webpage entitled Guide to Seventeenth Century Dutch Coins, Weights and Measures.

Following are some of the units more commonly encountered, excerpted from that page and the Wikipedia page Dutch units of measurement.

Units of measure

• roede (unit of distance; compare the English word "rod") = approximately 12 feet (but more specifically, a Rhinelandse roede was 12.36 feet and an Amsterdamse morgen was 12.07 feet)
• morgen (unit of area) = 2 acres of land (but more specifically, a Rhinelandse morgen was 600 square Rhinelandse roeden or 2.103 acres, and an Amsterdamse morgen was 600 square Amsterdamse roeden or 2.069 acres)
• schepel (unit of dry volume) = 0.764 bushel wheat or 1.29 bushels salt. When applied to land, a schepel was the land area that could be sown with a schepel of rye.
• zak = 3 schepels
• mudde or mud (unit of dry volume) = 4 schepels
• ons (unit of weight; compare the English word "ounce") = 1.085 ounces
• pond (unit of weight; compare the English word "pound") = 16 ons = 17.36 ounces
• last or scheepslast (unit of weight) = 4000 pond (roughly two tons)
• last (unit of volume) = 36 zakken, 27 mudden, or 108 schepels
• kan, can, or pot (units of fluid volume) = about a quart

Money

• 1 guilder = 20 stuiver (also spelled stiver)
• 1 Carolus guilder = 1 daelder = 1.5 guilders
• 1 rijksdaelder or rixdollar = 2.5 guilders
• 1 piece-of-eight = 2.4 guilders or 48 stuivers

Wampum

Wampum, also known as sewant or zeewant, was a currency for transactions between settlers and Indians and for transactions between settlers.

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