The Dutch guilder (Dutch: gulden or fl. was the currency of the Netherlands from the 17th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. Between 1999 and 2002, the guilder was officially a "national subunit" of the euro. However, physical payments could only be made in guilder, as no euro coins or banknotes were available. The Netherlands Antillean guilder is still in use in Curaçao and Sint Maarten (two countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands), but this currency is distinct from the Dutch guilder. In 2004, the Surinamese guilder was replaced by the Surinamese dollar.

The Dutch name gulden was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning "golden", and the name indicates the coin was originally made of gold. The symbol ƒ or fl. for the Dutch guilder was derived from another old currency, the florin, called the florin in English.

The exact exchange rate, still relevant for old contracts and for exchange of the legacy currency for euros at the central bank, is 2.20371 Dutch guilders (NLG) for 1 euro (EUR). Inverted, this gives EUR 0.453780 for NLG 1.

Before the introduction of the first guilder, there were regional and foreign golden coins that were likely referred to as "gulden" in Dutch. The first internationally accepted Dutch coin called gulden dates from 1517: the Carolusgulden (not to be confused with the English Carolus). Even before that, the County of Holland had minted golden coins since 1378.

An early guilder, a 10.61-gram .910 silver coin, was minted by the States of Holland and West Friesland in 1680. The original guilder design featured Pallas Athena standing, holding a spear topped by a hat in her right hand, resting with her left forearm on Gospels set on an ornate basis, with a small shield in the legend. This guilder was divided into 20 stuivers, each of 8 duiten or 16 penningen. The guilder gradually replaced other silver coin denominations circulating in the United Netherlands: the florijn (28 stuivers), the daalder (1 1⁄2 guilders or 30 stuivers), the rijksdaalder (2 1⁄2 guilders or 50 stuivers), the silver ducat (2 1⁄2 guilders or 50 stuivers) and the silver rider ducaton (3 guilders or 60 stuivers).

Between 1810 and 1814, the Netherlands was annexed to France and the French franc circulated. After the Napoleonic wars, the Kingdom of the Netherlands readopted the guilder. In 1817 it became decimalised, with one guilder equal to 100 cents. However, it was not until the 1840s that the last pre-decimal coins (many of which dated back to the 17th century) were withdrawn from circulation, whilst some of the new, decimal coins continued to bear nicknames based on their values in the older currency system through to the 21st century. Until 1948, the plural of cent used on coins was centen, after that it was cent.

The Netherlands was initially on a bimetallic standard, with the guilder equal to 605.61 milligrams of fine gold or 9.615 grams of fine silver. In 1840, the silver standard was adjusted to 9.45 grams, with the gold standard suspended in 1848. In 1875, the Netherlands adopted a gold standard with 1 guilder equal to 604.8 milligrams of fine gold. The gold standard was suspended between 1914 and 1925 and was abandoned in 1936.

Following the German occupation, on 10 May 1940, the guilder was pegged to the Reichsmark at a rate of 1 guilder = 1.5 Reichsmark. This rate was reduced to 1.327 on 17 July of the same year. The liberating Allied forces set an exchange rate of 2.652 guilders = 1 U.S. dollar, which became the peg for the guilder within the Bretton Woods system. In 1949, the peg was changed to 3.8 guilders = 1 dollar, approximately matching the devaluation of the British pound. In 1961, the guilder was revalued to 3.62 guilders = 1 dollar, a change approximately in line with that of the German mark. After 1967 guilders were made from nickel instead of silver.

In 2002, the guilder was replaced by the euro at an exchange rate of 2.20371 guilders = 1 Euro. Coins remained exchangeable for euros at branches of the Netherlands Central Bank until 1 January 2007. Banknotes valid at the time of conversion to the euro may be exchanged there until 1 January 2032.

The Nederlandsche Bank issued Dutch Guilder banknotes in 11 different denominations, including this 1 Dutch Guilder banknote (Muntbiljet 1943). They are part of the Dutch Guilder banknotes series. The Nederlandsche Bank started issuing these 1 Dutch Guilder banknotes in 1943. They were withdrawn from circulation in 1945.

This 1 Gulden banknote was a means of payment in the Netherlands during the German occupation in WWII. The portrait of Queen Wilhelmina is on the front side. The Dutch coat of arms is shown on the back side.

Wilhelmina (Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw the First and the Second World Wars, as well as the Dutch economic crisis of 1933.

The only child of King William III of the Netherlands and Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Wilhelmina ascended to the throne at the age of 10 after her father's death in 1890, under her mother's regency. After taking charge of government, Wilhelmina was generally popular for maintaining Dutch neutrality during the First World War and solving many of her country's industrial problems. By that time, her business ventures made her the world's first female billionaire in dollars. She ensured that her family was one of seven European royal houses remaining in existence.

Following the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, Wilhelmina fled to Britain and took charge of the Dutch government-in-exile. She frequently spoke to the nation over radio and came to be regarded as a symbol of the resistance. By 1948, she had already returned to the liberated Netherlands and was the only survivor of the 16 monarchs who were sitting on their thrones at the time of her coronation. Increasingly beset by poor health, Wilhelmina abdicated in favour of her daughter Juliana in September 1948 and retired to Het Loo Palace, where she died in 1962.

She is generally quite popular in the Netherlands, even among the Republican movement in the Netherlands. This is due to her being seen as a symbol of Dutch Resistance during World War 2.