The duit was a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 coin worth 2 penning, with 4 duit equal to one stuiver

Stuiver

The stuiver was a pre-decimal coin used in the Netherlands It was worth 16 penning or 8 duit. Twenty stuivers equalled a guilder.It circulated until the Napoleonic Wars...

and 80 duit equal to one gulden. It was once used in the Americas while under Dutch rule.

The name of the coin was preserved for a long time in the 'fourduitcoin' (or plak), because it was the biggest bronze coin of its time and it was worth half a stuiver (or 2,5 cent).

In the Dutch language

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

, there are many expressions, proverb

Proverb

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...

s and sayings which feature the word 'duit'.

• Putting a duit in the bag (Een duit in het zakje doen) - to contribute something
• He is a duit-thief (Hij is een duitendief) - he is very greedy
• He has much shit, but little duit (Hij heeft veel kak, maar weinig duiten) - he is a boaster
• To be courageous like a three-duit haddock (Moed hebben als een schelvis van drie duiten) - to be cowardly
• To give someone of four duit back (Iemand van vier duiten weerom geven) - to tell someone the truth

The duit is also referred to as the "New York Penny" due to its use as a Colonial monetary unit in Dutch New Amsterdam (later New York) and for years later, long after Dutch rule had passed. It was part of the coinage used to purchase the island of Manhattan from the locals.

Duit is also the Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 and the informal Indonesian

Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....

 equivalent of the English term "money

Money

Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...

". This happens because of centuries of Dutch rule in Indonesia.

• Saya mengambil duit dari dompet - I put out (some) money from (a/the) wallet

Non-copper duit

In addition to copper, proof coinage

Proof coinage

Proof coinage means special early samples of a coin issue, historically made for checking the dies and for archival purposes, but nowadays often struck in greater numbers specially for coin collectors . Many countries now issue them....

of the duit was also minted in silver and gold.