1 Ducaton – Spanish Netherlands

In 1618, the Spanish Netherlands (roughly modern-day Belgium and Luxembourg) faced a profound and chronic monetary crisis, a direct consequence of the ongoing Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The region, a wealthy economic hub, was caught between the military and financial demands of the Spanish Crown and the disruptive economic warfare of the Dutch Republic. To fund its massive military expenditures, Spain frequently resorted to debasing its coinage, flooding the Netherlands with low-quality, overvalued currency. Simultaneously, the Dutch strategically minted and exported inferior coins, known as klippe money, into the southern provinces to extract silver and sow economic chaos.

This led to a disastrous situation of "bad money driving out good," as described by Gresham's Law. High-quality, full-weight coins were hoarded, melted down for their bullion, or exported, while the debased and foreign imitations circulated freely. The result was a severe loss of confidence in the currency, rampant inflation, and crippling uncertainty in daily commerce. Merchants and ordinary citizens struggled with constantly fluctuating exchange rates between a bewildering array of coins, both domestic and foreign, each with its own suspect intrinsic value.

The authorities in Brussels, recognizing the threat to economic stability and tax revenues, attempted to legislate solutions. They issued repeated ordinances setting official values for coins and forbidding the circulation of specific debased issues. However, these measures were largely ineffective against market forces and the sheer scale of the problem. Thus, in 1618, the currency situation remained a turbulent and unresolved core vulnerability, undermining the region's economy and exacerbating the social strain of prolonged conflict.