17th Century

The weigh house

Verification Officers (‘IJkmeesters’) checked, among other things, the weights that money changers used to determine the weight and so the value of gold and silver coins. If the equipment used was correct, they would mark it with their personal sign. The purpose of such checks was to create trust and accuracy in trade and avoid cheating and conflict. Specialist weighhouses (‘waaggebouwen’) were built for this. The weigh houses promoted trustworthy trade and were therefore indispensable for any city that wanted to be known as a reliable trading centre.

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