The twenty-five cent was a coin worth a quarter of decimal Dutch guilder. It was used from the decimalisation of the currency in 1817 until the Netherlands adopted the euro as sole currency in 2002. The last minting was in 2001. The coin was the third-smallest denomination of the guilder when the currency was withdrawn, and the largest of a value less than one guilder.
At first, the coin was minted with a layer of silver alloy. During the reign of King William III of the Netherlands the coin became smaller from 1877 onwards. The new size of the coin would be the final size, except during the German occupation of the Netherlands, when the coin was much bigger.
From 1948 onwards, the coin was minted using nickel. Its last design originated from 1980, with Queen Beatrix as the monarch on its obverse.
It was nicknamed the kwartje. The nickname came from the Dutch word for a quarter (kwart), and the diminutive suffix -je (similar to the English -ie).
| 25 cent 1817-1830 | 25 cent 1848-1945 | 25 cent 1941-1943 | 25 cent 1948-2001 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.23 gram | 3.58 gram | 5 gram | 3 gram | ||
| Diameter | 21 mm | 19 mm | 26 mm | 18.5 mm 19 mm | |
| Thickness | 1.4 mm | 1.44 mm 1.38 mm | 1.5 mm | 1.32 mm 1.61 mm 1.55 mm | |
| Metal | Silver .569 | Silver .640 | Zinc | Nickel |
| 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 | 1817-1819(U), 1822(U), 1823(B), 1824(B), 1825(U and B), 1826(U and B), 1827(B), 1828(B), 1829(U and B), 1830(U and B) | |
| William II | Utrecht | Silver | Kings bust to the left | Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1848, 1849 | |
| William III | Utrecht | Silver | Kings bust to the right | Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1849, 1850, 1853, 1887, 1889, 1890 | |
| Wilhelmina | Utrecht | Silver | Queens bust to the left with loose hair | Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1891-1897 | |
| Wilhelmina | Utrecht | Silver | Queens head with diadem to the left | Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1898, 1901-1906 | |
| Wilhelmina | Utrecht | Silver | Queens bust with stoat cloak to the left | Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1910–1919, 1925 | |
| Wilhelmina | Utrecht and Philadelphia | Silver | Queens head to the left | Value and mint year between two bonded oak branches | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1926(U), 1928(U), 1939(U), 1940(U), 1941(U and P), 1943-1945(P) | |
| German occupation coin | Utrecht | Zinc | Stylized sailing ship | Value and mint year between two twigs | Smooth with no edge lettering | 1941-1943 | |
| Wilhelmina | Utrecht | Nickel | Queens head to the left | Value and mint year under a crown | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1948 | |
| Juliana | Utrecht | Nickel | Queens head to the right | Value and mint year under a crown | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1950, 1951, 1954–1958, 1960–1980 | |
| Beatrix | Utrecht | Nickel | Half Queens head to the left | Value with interrupted rectangular planes | Reeded with no edge lettering | 1982-2001 | |
| Discontinued due to introduction of the euro. | |||||||