The increase is largely attributed to higher-than-expected value-added tax (VAT) receipts, with an additional 33 million guilders collected. Income tax revenues have also exceeded expectations by 16 ...

But how much could 100 guilders buy in the mid-17th century? At that time, the amount would have translated to one-third of the annual salary of an outdoor laborer, or one-fifth that of a pastor.

Of these bonds the only surviving one is a 1,200 guilder bond sold on December 10, 1624, to a wealthy woman in Amsterdam ...