Muntdrop is licorice shaped like a coin. The Dutch word munt means coin (it also appears in pepermunt, peppermint, which causes endless confusion), and in drop it refers to the shape, not to a mint flavour. Muntdrop is usually firm and mildly sweet, often with a light touch of salmiak. It is one of the classic everyday Dutch drops.
Venco Muntendrop and Klene Muntdrop
Two versions dominate. Venco sells Muntendrop, firm coins stamped with old Dutch guilder denominations — the half guilder, guilder, rijksdaalder (two and a half guilders) and five-guilder piece. A Venco pack lists licorice root extract at 3.5% and ammonium chloride ("salmiak") at 2.2%. Klene sells its coins as Muntdrop and describes them as firm with a mild, sweet taste; Klene marked its 150th anniversary in 2026 with muntdrop among its classics.
If you meant mint-flavoured drop
Many people searching for "Dutch mint drop" are remembering one of these:
- Schoolkrijt — soft licorice sticks in a white sugar coating, flavoured with anise and mint. Venco's Schoolkrijt is the best-known and is probably the "white-coated Dutch licorice" people describe.
- Wilhelmina pepermunt — not licorice at all, but the white peppermint embossed with a portrait of the young Queen Wilhelmina, made by Fortuin in Dokkum since 1892 (see pepermunt).
- Menthol and eucalyptus drop — cooling throat drops, covered under flavoured drop.
Where muntdrop fits
On the sweet-to-salted scale, muntdrop sits on the mild side: sweeter than zoute drop, with less salmiak than dubbelzout. That makes it a good first drop for visitors. The coin is also one of the standard forms in the shapes guide, and salted coins exist too, so check the pack.