The interest collected in 2015 amounted to 136.20 euros ($153). Yale is allowed to bring the paper addendum to the Netherlands to collect interest, allowing the bond to remain in their library. However by 1944 there was no longer any room on the bond itself, so a paper addendum is now in use. The only problem is that you need to take the bond with you to collect the interest. When interest was collected, this information was recorded on the bond (see the above image). The bond itself is the proof of ownership. 7g5Metem2l- 99 Percent Invisible January 11, 2020 Collecting payments on the bond, however, is not so easy. In fact, Yale is still in possession of a 1648 Dutch water bond. Because they have no maturity date, some very old bonds are still in circulation. Perpetual bonds are a rare and beautiful thing. It is written on goatskin and now owned by Yale University. The oldest one still paying interest is a 1648 bond from a Dutch water authority to help pay for the construction of a pier. Over time the bonds pay interest, usually maturing over 30 years, meaning that if you’re patient you’ll make a bit of money on the side.īut there are also “perpetual bonds”, which never mature and always create interest for the holder. Bonds are something governments or companies offer in exchange for a loan from you. One of the mini stories was entitled “ The Forever Bond“. They usually broadcast a few of those at the end of the year around the holidays. One of the episodes I listened to last week was Mini-stories 8, an episode of, you guessed it, mini stories. What can I say – some people just sound really good on radio. It’s quite informative, although I must admit that I like it because the host, Roman Mars, has such a soothing voice. I was catching up on some episodes of the 99% invisible podcast last week (also known as 99pi).

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