Dutch company pays interest on 1648 bonds

^{Source Beinecke Library / Yale University}

In 1648, the Dutch company De Stichtse Rijnlanden issued a perpetual bond, the income from the sale of which was to go to build a small river pier on the Lek River, which is now one of the main shipping routes in the country. The valuable paper is a piece of specially treated goat skin measuring 20 by 33 centimeters. The declared value of the bond at the time of its release was 1,000 guilders, which is approximately $ 509 at the current exchange rate.

Yale University (USA) acquired a bond in 2003 for 24,000 euros as a museum piece and since that time has not shown any interest in it as a security from which it would be possible to get income. Only after a telephone conversation between university staff and Stichtse Rijnlanden, which was made for academic purposes, did it turn out that the Dutch company does not mind paying interest. On Monday, September 21, a symbolic payment receipt will be sent to Yale, and the money in the amount of 136.20 euros will be transferred to the university account.

If you look at the bond, it is clear that money is paid on it since 1943. The annual payment is 25 guilders in equivalent of 11.34 euros. In addition to this document, at least 4 more similar artifacts are known, for which Dutch companies still pay interest. The oldest bond is dated 1624.