long as there was still a hope of Germany continuing her old system, the commission merely proposed to coin a gold piece side by side with the silver money. When, however, Germany adopted the gold standard, the commission, in its additional report of 26th June 1873, proposed to do the same by the introduction of a legal tender currency of 10- and 5-florin pieces in gold, and the withdrawal of the silver standard coins issued under the law of 1847. This measure did not meet the approval of the States-General. For the moment Holland had therefore no standard of value, the Mint being closed to silver, and gold being unrecognised. The consequent heavy fall in the exchange led to an agitation which resulted in the enactment of the law of 6th June 1875, which opened the Mint to the public for the coining of golden 10-guilder pieces of .9 fine, to be legal tender concurrently with the silver florins at the ratio of 1 to 15.625 (calculated on a quotation of 60.35 price per oz. of silver). The law was only enacted for a year, and in the following May 1876 an Page 273 attempt was made to pass a bill for the introduction of an exclusive gold standard, and for the demonetisation of silver. The bill was rejected by the First Chamber, and the law of 1875 renewed for another year, and then (by the law of 9th December 1877) renewed "until otherwise determined upon by law."
The result was the permanence of the limping standard—a gold piece with free minting, side by side