Netherlands Bread tokens
Tokens for the poor
There is a long series of tokens for the poor issued by Dutch churches and monasteries in the 15th to 17th centuries. Some remain unidentified. Others are assigned to a town. A listing for the city of Leiden alone runs over 100 types and variants. Their use remains unclear. Most would likely have bought bread, but they may also have served for clothing, heating material or medical care. They may have circulated locally instead of money.
Welfare bread token issuers
The Amsterdam deaconry claims that its origin is in 1572. It is not clear what this claim is based on. Other sources mention 1578, a more likely date.
In 1568, a protestant rebellion started against the rule of the Habsburg kings. The rebellion quickly turned into a religious war (1568 - 1648) that carried on for eight decades. Amsterdam, with a conservative and catholic leadership, initially did not participate in the war. As the protestants gained ground, the city became increasingly isolated politically and - more important - economically.
By the Pacification of Ghent in 1576, the leader of the protestants, William the silent, prince of Orange, obtained the right to strengthen his position in cities if he could conclude an agreement (satisfactie) with the city authorities. The catholic city leadership of Amsterdam refused. In November 1577, an attempt to take the city for the protestants by surprise failed. The city leaders correctly saw this as a warning and signed a satisfactie in February 1578, remaining in power. It was too little too late. In May 1578, protestants took over in a bloodless coup, the alteratie. Protestant merchants, more concerned about trade and money than religion, replaced catholic nobility, the vocation of most churches was changed, monasteries became public buildings. Amsterdam would flourish as never before.
The religious change made a large hole in the city's welfare system, which had basically been a job of the catholic church. A protestant counterpart was needed. It was the deaconry of the protestants (photo: Stadsarchief Amsterdam, L.F. Dubourg Allegory on the charity of the Nederduits-Hervormde Diaconie. Supported by a woman with a feather in her hand, a cornucopia and an eagle, Charity, seated on clouds and two putti show an image from the story of the Good Samaritan to two orphans on the left and to a needy couple on the right. A third putto holds up a canvas depicting the preceding scene from the same story.) The mainstream Calvinists would soon face competition from a Lutheran deaconry. In the 16th century, deacons would either "offer comfort" to the sick, prisoners and strangers or collect and manage money for homes caring for the poor, orphanages and hospitals. The latter group was responsible for the tokens. They would typically be given after a church service, forcing the ambulant beneficiaries to attend church service, and be good for bread.
The protestant church underwent a number of name changes. At first known as Calvinists, they eventually called themselves the reformed church (reflecting their reforms from catholicism), using at first the Dutch term gereformeerd, after the Napoleonic occupation Nederduits hervormd, to stress an amount of unity with German protestants, Nederlands hervormd after the German occupation in the second world war and Protestant today.
Welfare bread tokens
Welfare bread tokens | ||
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Filename | NBWA1 | |
Side 1 | Bread, marked DIA on table, date below. GEREFORMEERD DIACONIE BROOD (reformed deaconry bread). | |
Side 2 | Seated Charity, left hand on lamb, right hand in gesture of giving. VERGENOEGD EN DANKBAER (content and grateful). | |
Material | Lead, copper plug | |
Size (mm) | 29 | |
Weight (grams) | 12.93 | |
Notes | NBWA1 varieties | |
Source | Amsterdam museum | |
Filename | NBWA2 | |
Side 1 | Bread, marked DIA on table, date below. GEREFORMEERD DIACONIE BROOD (reformed deaconry bread). | |
Side 2 | Seated Charity, left hand on lamb, right hand in gesture of giving. VERGENOEGD EN DANKBAER (content and grateful). | |
Material | Lead, copper plug | |
Size (mm) | 29 | |
Weight (grams) | 12.90 | |
Notes | Countermarked B NBWA2 varieties | |
Source | Kooij | |
Filename | NBWA3 | |
Side 1 | Two breads on table, 1861 below. BROODPENNING DER HERV. DIACONIE TE AMSTERDAM (Bread token of the reormed deaconry in Amsterdam). | |
Side 2 | Seated Charity, left hand on lamb, right hand in gesture of giving. VERGENOEGD EN DANKBAAR (content and grateful). | |
Material | Zinc | |
Size (mm) | 28 | |
Weight (grams) | 6.29 | |
Notes | NBWA3 varieties | |
Source | Amsterdam museum, David van der Kellen | |
Filename | NBWA4 | |
Side 1 | Four breads on table, 1861 below. BROODPENNING DER HERV. DIACONIE TE AMSTERDAM (Bread token of the reformed deaconry in Amsterdam). | |
Side 2 | Seated Charity, left hand on lamb, right hand in gesture of giving. VERGENOEGD EN DANKBAAR (content and grateful). | |
Material | Zinc | |
Size (mm) | 28 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Kooij | |
Filename | NBWA5 | |
Side 1 | Rubber stamp. D.I.A./BAKKERIJ/DER/NEDERD: HERV:/GEMEENTE/AMSTERDAM | |
Side 2 | * / purple ink signature between lines / date below. Around: Met een loodje goed / voor een Roggebrood (Good for a rye bread when presented with a lead piece) - dark blue print. | |
Material | Light brown carton | |
Size (mm) | 43.5 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Heritage May 2017 lot 1707 | |
Filename | NBWA6 | |
Side 1 | Seated Charity with arms of Amsterdam and cornucopia opposite standing naked man, wrapping himself in cloth. SALIGH ZYN DE BARMHERTIGE (blessed are the merciful). In the exergue DIA between decorative elements. | |
Side 2 | Printer's mark K153 (Printer Beenders, Amsterdam) | |
Material | Light brown carton | |
Size (mm) | Oval | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | Used during the second world war. | |
Source | Allex Kussendrager: Het broodloodje van Amsterdam in De Muntkoerier 06 1979 |
Discount bread token issuers
Ad NBDA1: While the Weduwe J. de Jonge factory was originally in Nieuwezijds Armsteeg 2, Amsterdam (photo: Stadsarchief Amsterdam), there were bakery shops on Frederik Hendrikstraat 168 and Lepelstraat 7 (specialised in Jewish bread products). Around 1916, the city of Amsterdam forced the factory to move out of the city centre.
Ad NBDK1: Hendrikus Schomaker was born in Dedemsvaart on August 13, 1860. He died in Dülmen (Germany) on May 5, 1920. He married to Hendrika Johanna van den Berg in Kampen in 1890 where his profession is listed as baker. The couple went to live in Epe and moved in 1893 to Kampen. Business must have been good. In 1895 Schomaker, calling himself master baker, placed an advertisement for a second salesperson in his bakery. In november 1897 the family moved to Amsterdam where his occupation was bread delivery man. In 1908 the family moved to Dülmen, where he became a weaver. As the tokens mention Kampen, they were likely issued in the period 1893/4 - 1897 and presumably struck by Lauer. Their purpose is unknown.
Ad NBDM1-33: Maastrichtse broodfabriek was established in 1878 on O.L.V. plein 18 in Maastricht by Johannes Hamers. Johannes died in 1914 and was succeeded by Martin Hamers. Shops opened under the name MABRO in rapid succession on O.L.V. plein 17, next to the factory entrance, Wijkerbrugstraat 37, Muntstraat 29, Voltastraat 22 and Koning Clovisstraat 3, all in Maastricht. A second factory opened in nearby Heerlen after the second world war. The shops had a delivery service, centralised at the factory, starting out with horse-drawn vehicles, replaced by three-wheeled cargo bicycles, in turn replaced by electric three-wheelers. Further business was obtained by franchises, bakery shops that no longer made their own bread.
In the 1970s, taste turned away from factory-produced bread and back to locally produced bread. MABRO seems to have been taken by surprise. They even tried selling holiday trips, but that was not a good answer. The Heerlen branch merged with the bread branch of local supermarket producer ODB (Our Daily Bread), to form VLB (United Bread factories of Limburg) in 1973. However, the bread combination went into receivership the year after. The MABRO factory in Maastricht lasted until 1980.
Ad NBDR1: Hermann Gottfried Behle was born on May 11, 1832 in Barmen (Germany). More research is necessary, but the Behle family were likely of German-Jewish origin. In 1880 he moved to Rotterdam where he was registered on November 11, 1880. He soon started a "Duitsche Bakkerij" (German Bakery) which was quite successful. His bread was sold by several other stores, one of them in Amsterdam. He also took part in exhibitions where he won prizes with his bread. He died on December 22, 1896 in Rotterdam.
His son Ewald started his own "Hollands en Duitsche Bakkerij" (Dutch and German Bakery) in 1893. He was even more successful than his father, his bakery growing into a bread factory. He died on October 23, 1953 in The Hague, 84 years of age. At that time he lived in Wassenaar, in a country house "Huize Paffendorf" (Paffendorf was the name of his mother).
On Saturday May 21, 1892 H.G. Behle opened a second bakery in The Hague. In the advertisement announcing the opening it is stated: "Bij het brood, afgehaald in den Winkel, ontvangt een ieder een Bon. 30 Bons geven recht op een gratis Brood" (with every bread bought in the store a ticket is given. 30 of these tickets entitle to a free bread). Obviously these tickets refer to the token shown in the table below. This store, however, went bankrupt in November of that year. It seems likely that these tokens were also used in The Hague although there is no documentary evidence to that effect.
Schiedamsedijk 91, Rotterdam is in the centre of the city. The area borders on the port of Rotterdam. After 1830, it was populated by groups of Jews, prostitutes and "de penoze", a term from Amsterdam for petty and not so petty criminals and their entourage. The building has disappeared in the 1940 carpet bombing of Rotterdam.
Ad NDBS1: Everardus Hendricus Steenhorst was born in Schiedam on 12 april 1865, married there on 14 august 1894 and died, also in Schiedam, on 15 february 1907. He opened his own bakery on Singel 216, Schiedam in 1888. In the address book of Schiedam for the year 1897 he is still listed as a baker.
Discount bread tokens
The table is organised alphabetically by location.
Discount bread tokens | ||
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Filename | NBDA1 | |
Side 1 | Decorative scroll on wheat ears inscribed: goed voor (good for) / 1 cent. Around: BROODFABRIEK (bread factory) and •WED. J. DE JONGE• (widow J. de Jonge) | |
Side 2 | Decorative scroll inscribed: Spaarpenning / Wed. J de jonge. Around: 25 van deze penningen moeten worden ingeruild voor één coupon• (25 of these tokens must be exchanged for one coupon) | |
Material | Printed tin plate, holed. Green on white ink, gold edge. | |
Size (mm) | 33.4 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | Frederik Hendrikstraat 168, Amsterdam | |
Source | Heritage November 2021 lot 1480 | |
Filename | NBDA2 | |
Side 1 | Decorative scroll on wheat ears inscribed: goed voor (good for) / 1 cent. Around: BROODFABRIEK (bread factory) and •v/h WED. J. DE JONGE• (formerly widow J. de Jonge) | |
Side 2 | Decorative scroll inscribed: Spaarpenning / v/h Wed. J de Jonge. Around: 25 van deze penningen moeten worden ingeruild voor één coupon• (25 of these tokens must be exchanged for one coupon) | |
Material | Printed tin plate, holed. Green on white ink, gold edge. | |
Size (mm) | 33.3 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Heritage November 2021 lot 1480 | |
Filename | NBDC1 | |
Side 1 | BROODFABRIEK / DE HOOP / CAPELLE N.B. (Bread factory De Hoop, Capelle North Brabant) in pearl circle | |
Side 2 | 1 / A.L.S. & C. in pearl circle | |
Material | Brass. | |
Size (mm) | 19.3 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Heritage auction, November 2021 lot 1492 | |
Filename | NBDK1 | |
Side 1 | BROODPENNING (bread token)/ VAN (by)/ H / SCHOMAKER / KAMPEN | |
Side 2 | lamb | |
Material | Brass. | |
Size (mm) | 12.7 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Henk | |
File:NBDM1.jpg | ||
Filename | NBDM1 | |
Side 1 | 1 in pearl circle, around: MAASTRICHTSE BROODFABRIEK (Maastricht bread factory) | |
Side 2 | 1 in pearl circle, around: MAASTRICHTSE BROODFABRIEK (Maastricht bread factory) | |
Material | Brass. | |
Size (mm) | 20.5 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Kooij | |
Filename | NBDM2 | |
Side 1 | 5 in pearl circle, around: MAASTRICHTSE BROODFABRIEK (Maastricht bread factory) | |
Side 2 | 5 in pearl circle, around: MAASTRICHTSE BROODFABRIEK (Maastricht bread factory) | |
Material | Brass. | |
Size (mm) | 21.5 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Henk | |
File:NBDM3.jpg | ||
Filename | NBDM3 | |
Side 1 | 10 in pearl circle, around: MAASTRICHTSE BROODFABRIEK (Maastricht bread factory) | |
Side 2 | 10 in pearl circle, around: MAASTRICHTSE BROODFABRIEK (Maastricht bread factory) | |
Material | Brass. | |
Size (mm) | 24.3 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Kooij | |
Filename | NBDR1 | |
Side 1 | H.G. / BEHLE / ROTTERDAM / SCHIED. DIJK / 91 in pearl circle, around: 30 STUKS GELDIG VOOR EEN BROOD À 15 CENTS (30 pieces valid for a loaf of 15 cents) | |
Side 2 | Crown BEKROOND (awarded) / IN / ANTWERPEN / AMSTERDAM / &BOLSWARD around: DUITSCHE EN HOLLANDSCHE BAKKERIJ (German and Dutch bakery) | |
Material | Brass. | |
Size (mm) | 20.3 | |
Weight (grams) | 2.37 | |
Notes | 1884-1897 | |
Source | Figleaf | |
File:NBDR2.jpg | ||
Filename | NBDR2 | |
Side 1 | PRIMO in pearl circle, around: VOLKSBAKKERIJ (popular bakery) / ROTTERDAM | |
Side 2 | PRIMO in pearl circle | |
Material | Brass. | |
Size (mm) | 28.5 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | organised and probably subsidised by local employers. | |
Source | Kooij | |
File:NBDS1.jpg | ||
Filename | NBDS1 | |
Side 1 | •E H STEENHORST• 1 cent | |
Side 2 | Blank | |
Material | Zinc. | |
Size (mm) | 24.8 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | Kooij lists this token in the cooperative token section. | |
Source | Henk | |
File:NBDV1.jpg | ||
Filename | NBDV1 | |
Side 1 | 1 BROOD, around: A.v.d.HOMBERGH •VELDEN• all in solid circle | |
Side 2 | Blank | |
Material | aluminium round | |
Size (mm) | 26 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Kooij | |
File:NBDV2.jpg | ||
Filename | NBDV2 | |
Side 1 | 1 BROOD, around: A.v.d.HOMBERGH •VELDEN• all in solid circle | |
Side 2 | Blank | |
Material | aluminium sextagon | |
Size (mm) | 26 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Kooij | |
File:NBDV3.jpg | ||
Filename | NBDV3 | |
Side 1 | 1 BROOD, around: A.v.d.HOMBERGH •VELDEN• all in solid circle | |
Side 2 | Blank | |
Material | steel sextagon | |
Size (mm) | 26 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | ||
Source | Kooij |
Bakery advertising tokens
The tokens in the table below may have been souvenirs, or they may have been good for a discount.
Bakery advertising tokens | ||
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Filename | NBAA1 | |
Side 1 | D. KREUNEN Az (shop owner's name) / BANKETBAKKER (pastry bakery) / KEIZERSGRACHT (address) / HOEK (corner) LEIDSCHESTRAAT / AMSTERDAM | |
Side 2 | Spread eagle above WURDEN BRUSSEL (minter) in circle. GEVESTIGD SEDERT (established since) *1827* around. | |
Material | brass | |
Size (mm) | 26 | |
Weight (grams) | 6.99 | |
Notes | NBAA1 varieties | |
Source | Amsterdam museum | |
Filename | NBAL1 | |
Side 1 | BROOD (bread) BANKET (pastry) / Everard v.d. Hengel / Utrecht mint and mint master (Chr. van Draanen) sign | |
Side 2 | Date split by 50 Jaar (years). Around: BAKWERK VAKWERK (baking craftsmanship) | |
Material | copper-nickel | |
Size (mm) | 23.5 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | Hamersveldseweg, Leusden. | |
Source | ||
Filename | NBAZ1 | |
Side 1 | D / Délifrance / Utrecht mint and mint master (R. Bruens) sign, date, split by croissant. Around: Art de vivre à la française (french lifestyle) and half wreath. | |
Side 2 | Déli Franc in circle. Around: whole wreath. | |
Material | brass | |
Size (mm) | 26 | |
Weight (grams) | ||
Notes | Zwijndrecht | |
Source | Kooij |