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Discount
(970 words)

Discount (Ital. sconto) is a special form of interest, which is derived from the nominal value of a credit paper, should the latter come to be cashed before the due date. Preconditions for discounting were, first, the transferrability and disposal of credit instruments (bills of exchange, bearer notes, promissory notes) and secondly the legalization of the requirement of interest with the setting of the maximum level of interest. The latter occurred for the Habsburg Netherlands with an imperial mandate in 1541 (loan interest up to 12.5…

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North, Michael, “Discount”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_018365>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170626



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