What is the oldest perpetual bond in the world?

Asked by: Aniya Barton  |  Last update: April 1, 2026
Score: 4.6/5 (2 votes)

Consols that were issued by the United States and the UK governments. War bonds issued by a number of governments to finance war efforts in the first and second world wars. The oldest example of a perpetual bond was issued on 15 May 1624 by the Dutch water board of Lekdijk Bovendams and sold to Elsken Jorisdochter.

What is the oldest living bond in the world?

The oldest bond that is still paying interest is one issued in 1624 by the Hoogheemraadschap Lekdijk Bovendams (NLD) to fund repairs to flood defences on the Lek river, south of Utrecht. The holder is entitled to annual interest payments of 2.5% of the principal (which was 1,200 Dutch guilders).

What are bonds that never expire?

Most bonds mature eventually and are redeemed after periods of months, years, or even decades. And then there are so-called perpetual bonds. These bonds have no maturity date and just keep paying interest to the holder forever.

What is the most stable bond in the world?

In chemistry, a covalent bond is the strongest bond, In such bonding, each of two atoms shares electrons that bind them together. For example - water molecules are bonded together where both hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms share electrons to form a covalent bond.

Do perpetual bonds still exist?

Perpetuals make up only a very small portion of the total bond market. The primary issuers of perpetual bonds are government entities and banks. Banks issue such bonds as a means of helping them meet their capital requirements – the money received from investors for the bonds qualifies as Tier 1 capital.

The centuries-old debt that's still paying interest

40 related questions found

What is the oldest perpetual debt?

The oldest example of a perpetual bond was issued on 15 May 1624 by the Dutch water board of Lekdijk Bovendams and sold to Elsken Jorisdochter. Only about five such bonds from the Dutch Golden Age are known to survive by 2023. Another of these bonds, issued in 1648, is currently in the possession of Yale University.

What are the problems with perpetual bonds?

Risks and Drawbacks of Perpetual Bonds

The risks associated with investing in perpetual bonds are described below: Credit risk of the issuer: If the issuer of a perpetual bond goes insolvent, you won't get interest income from such bonds. Hence, investors in such bonds are exposed to credit risk.

What is the world's strongest bond?

As a maker of heavy-duty epoxies, J-B Weld is known as the World's Strongest Bond. So, whether you're crafting, building or repairing J-B Weld's easy-to-use epoxies will give you strength that lasts.

Which is the most stable compound on earth?

Because of the small size of Li and F , LiF has highest lattice enthalpy and hence most stable .

What is the safest bond in the world?

Treasurys are generally considered "risk-free" since the federal government guarantees them and has never (yet) defaulted. These government bonds are often best for investors seeking a safe haven for their money, particularly during volatile market periods. They offer high liquidity due to an active secondary market.

What is a bullet bond?

A bullet bond is a debt instrument whose entire principal value is paid all at once on the maturity date, as opposed to amortizing the bond over its lifetime. Bullet bonds cannot be redeemed early by an issuer, which means they are non-callable.

Can bonds become worthless?

All investments contain risk and may lose value. Investing in the bond market is subject to risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, inflation risk, and liquidity risk. The value of most bonds and bond strategies are impacted by changes in interest rates.

What is vanilla bond?

A plain vanilla bond is market jargon to describe a standard bond i.e. an interest-bearing security paying coupons at regular intervals with a stated fixed maturity. In other words, a plain vanilla bond has no embedded options or structured elements.

What is the oldest life form still on Earth?

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) is a species of pine tree. It is found in the American West, mostly in Utah, Nevada, and California. One of these trees has been measured to be over 4,850 years old!

Who was the longest lasting bond?

The longest-serving James Bond actors in years
  • Daniel Craig (2006-2020) - 14 years.
  • Roger Moore (1973-1985) - 12 years.
  • Pierce Brosnan (1995-2002) - 7 years.
  • Sean Connery (1962-1967) - 5 years.
  • Timothy Dalton (1987-1989) - 2 years.
  • George Lazenby (1969) and Sean Connery (1971) - 0 years.

What is the oldest still living country?

San Marino

This tiny nation on the Italian peninsula holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest existing republic in the world.

What is the rarest stable element on earth?

The rarest stable metal on Earth is Tantalum (Ta). Named after Tantalus, a wicked Greek mythological figure who was the son of Zeus, tantalum is an incredibly tough, heavy and hard metal that's blue-grey in colour and the rarest stable element found in our solar system.

What is the most abundant compound on the earth?

Water, which makes up 75% of earth is the most abundant compund found on earth.

What is the rarest bond?

Quadruple bonds are rare as compared to double bonds and triple bonds, but hundreds of compounds with such bonds have been prepared. The structure of chromium(II) acetate contains a quadruple Cr–Cr bond.

What bond can never be broken in chemistry?

Covalent Bond Properties

These are considered strong and unbreakable chemical bonds that bind the atoms in place. These will only pair the electrons and do not form new ones. After covalent bonds are formed, it is almost impossible to break them.

What is the strongest glue on Earth?

It's unsurprising, then, that the world's strongest glue is an epoxy resin. DELO MONOPOX, made by the German adhesives company DELO, currently holds the Guinness World Record for the heaviest weight lifted by glue (bit.ly/3RFEZv2).

What is the price of a perpetual bond?

The price of a perpetual bond is, therefore, the fixed interest payment, or coupon amount, divided by the discount rate, with the discount rate representing the speed at which money loses value over time.

What is considered a junk bond?

Junk bonds are a kind of bond or debt investment that is rated below investment grade. The junk bond rating means that there is a greater risk that the issuer will default on the debt relative to investment-grade bonds.

What is perpetual sukuk?

Perpetual sukuk are debt securities with no fixed maturity date. They are regarded as hybrid securities because they are a debt security with equity-like features due to the absence of maturity, hence such Sukuk are treated as equity rather than debt.