The Royal Dutch Mint (Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt, abbreviated KNM) is a company founded in 1567 that is responsible for producing, among others, euro coins for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is currently located in Houten, Netherlands, where it moved to in 2020. It was established and previously owned by the Dutch State, but is now owned by HM Precious Metals.[1]
History
On 17 September 1806, when the Netherlands was under the rule of King Louis Bonaparte, he decided that the striking and distribution of coins should be by a single, national body.[2] This was in contrast to the Middle Ages custom of large trading cities having their own mint and coins, which resulted in several coins circulating within the country, and many levels of controlling bureaucracy.
Originally, it was planned for the mint's seat to be located in the capital city of Amsterdam. Since there was insufficient funding, the national mint's seat was located in Utrecht.
After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded, and William I became king of the Netherlands. The mint was renamed to 's Rijks Munt. What is now Belgium was a part of the new kingdom, and a second Mint was located in