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Vinzenz Bronzin’s Option Pricing Models pp 487–518Cite as

The Early History of Option Contracts

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Abstract

This chapter discusses the history of option contracts from ancient times until the appearance of Theorie der Prämiengeschäffe by Vinzenz Bronzin in 1908. The history examines the use of contracts with option features prior to the introduction of trade in free standing option contracts on the Antwerp bourse during the 16th century. Descriptions of the Amsterdam share option market by de la Vega in the 17th century and de Pinto in the 18th century are reviewed. The specific language of a late 17th century English option contract is provided in detail. The development and practice of option trading in the 18th and 19th centuries, as reflected in merchant manuals of that period, is examined. The article concludes with an overview of late 19th century option trading in securities and commodities.

Keywords

  • Option Price
  • Call Option
  • Stock Option
  • Expiration Date
  • European Option

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Canada

    Geoffrey Poitras

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  1. Geoffrey Poitras
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gartensteig 5, 5210, Windisch, Switzerland

    Wolfgang Hafner

  2. WWZ Abteilung Finanzmarkttheorie, Peter Merian-Weg 6, 4002, Basel, Switzerland

    Heinz Zimmermann

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Poitras, G. (2009). The Early History of Option Contracts. In: Hafner, W., Zimmermann, H. (eds) Vinzenz Bronzin’s Option Pricing Models. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-85711-2_24

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