Thus was created a perfectly uniform currency for the transactions of commerce, and bank money rose at once to an agio, or premium above the current coin. This premium varied from time to time. It may be looked upon as nearly equal to, and generally as representing the average depreciation of the current coin below its nominal value. The Bank of Amsterdam, after its first establishment, admitted no new subscribers; but it sold bank money to all who wished to purchase, at a premium varying with the market price. It also sold current coin, when it was needed for exportation, upon receiving an equivalent trans- fer of bank money
