A dubbeltje () is a small former Dutch coin, originally made of silver, with a value of a tenth of a Dutch guilder. The current 10-euro-cent coin in circulation today in the Netherlands is also sometimes called a dubbeltje.
The name "dubbeltje" is the diminutive form of the Dutch word "dubbel" (Dutch for "double") because it was worth two stuivers. When the decimal system came to the Netherlands (about 1800) the 10-cent coin was named a "dubbeltje". In Dutch slang, a dubbeltje was named a beisje, from Dutch-Yiddish beis, the value of two stuivers. Automatic translation from Dutch to English often translates "dubbeltje" as "dime".
The central opening in a CD is exactly the size of a dubbeltje (15 mm). Joop Sinjou, head of Philips audio products development, said that "De snelste beslissing in de ontwikkelingsfase was over de diameter van het gat in de CD. Ik legde een dubbeltje op tafel en dat werd de maat." ("The fastest decision in the development phase was about the diameter of the hole in the CD. I put a dubbeltje on the table and that was the size.") The same form factor with the dubbeltje-sized center was carried over on newer disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray.
There are Dutch sayings about the dubbeltje: Dat was een dubbeltje op zijn kant (That was a dubbeltje on its edge): A narrow escape. Voor een dubbeltje op de eerste rij/rang (willen) zitten (To (want to) sit on the first row/rank for a dubbeltje): He gets (or wants to get) more for his money than he would expect from the price paid. Wie voor een dubbeltje geboren is, wordt nooit een kwartje (He who is born for a dubbeltje will never become a kwartje): If you're born poor, you'll never become rich. Zo plat als een dubbeltje (As thin as a dubbeltje): Really thin/flat.
Dimensions and weight 10-cent 1818–1828 10-cent 1848–1945 10-cent 1941–1943 10-cent 1948–2001 Mass 1.69 grams 1.4 grams 3.3 grams 1.5 grams Diameter 18 mm 15 mm 15.2 mm 15 mm 22 mm 15 mm Thickness ? mm 0.86 mm 0.96 mm 0.81 mm 1 mm 1.5 mm 1.21 mm 1.21 mm 1.26 mm Metal Silver .569 Silver .640 Zinc Nickel Source
Versions Monarch Mint Material Obverse Reverse Edge Minting years William I Utrecht and Brussels Silver Crowned W between the mint year Crowned Dutch coat of arms between value Smooth with no edge lettering 1818(U), 1819(U), 1822(U), 1823(B), 1825-1828(U and B) William II Utrecht Silver King's bust to the left Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1848, 1849 William III Utrecht Silver King's bust to the right Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1849, 1850, 1853, 1855, 1856, 1859, 1862, 1863, 1868, 1869, 1871, 1973, 1874, 1876–1882, 1884, 1885, 1887, 1889, 1890 Wilhelmina Utrecht Silver Queen's bust to the left with loose hair Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1892 Wilhelmina Utrecht Silver Queen's bust to the left with loose hair (broader) Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1893–1897 Wilhelmina Utrecht Silver Queen's head with diadem to the left Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1898, 1901 Wilhelmina Utrecht Silver Queens' head with diadem to the left (broader) Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1903 Wilhelmina Utrecht Silver Queen's head with diadem to the left (smaller) Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1904–1906 Wilhelmina Utrecht Silver Queen's bust with stoat cloak to the left Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1910–1919, 1921, 1925 Wilhelmina Utrecht, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver Silver Queen's head to the left Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches Reeded with no edge lettering 1926-1928(U), 1930(U), 1934-1939(U), 1941(U and P), 1942(P), 1943(P), 1944(P, S and D), 1945(P) German occupation coin Utrecht Zinc Three stylized tulips Value and mint year between two twigs Reeded with no edge lettering 1941–1943 Wilhelmina Utrecht Nickel Queen's head to the left Value and mint year under a crown Reeded with no edge lettering 1948 Juliana Utrecht Nickel Queen's head to the right Value and mint year under a crown Reeded with no edge lettering 1950, 1951, 1954–1980 Beatrix Utrecht Nickel Half Queen's head to the left Value with rectangular planes Reeded with no edge lettering 1982–2001 Discontinued due to introduction of the euro. Source
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