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De Westfriese Munt

At Westerstraat 125 is the Mint, the building where the VOC coins were minted. This happened alternately in Enkhuizen, Hoorn or Medemblik. The beautiful facade has remained almost intact. The monumental building now houses De Sprong, a shop for women’s fashion.

The Westfriese Munt opposite the Westerkerk is a real eye-catcher. It is a building that existed long before 1600 with many functions. With the outbuildings up to the Dijk it was initially a church institution. A hospitable facility was housed there.

It bore the name of Patershof since 1467. West Frisian Munt. Every self-respecting city in Holland had its own coin. Hoorn and Medemblik also had their own coins, so that by mutual agreement, every six years the coin was established alternately in Enkhuizen, Hoorn and Medemblik. This, incidentally, to the chagrin of the counts of Holland, who would have liked to see one coin of equal value. That turned out not to be easy, because the stubborn West Frisians saw more salvation and value in their own currency.

In the long run this proved unsustainable, especially due to the merger of other municipal coins, so that the West Frisian coin had to follow in order to maintain its value.

De Westfriese Munt

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City full of landlubbers and sailors