In 1602 the VOC was founded and as far as I know, it was one of the more modern stock markets. How did the very exchange of stocks for money and vice versa look like? How was the price determined, was there a public index somewhere, avalible for interested parties or was it word of mouth? Was there bartering? Were people who would trade there from all social stratas or was it reserved only for elites?
Thanks in advance!
I just happened to be reading Russel Shorto's [i]Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City[/i] which describes this a bit. The initial public offering of shares in the VOC took place in the house of a Dirck van Os, where people could subscribe for shares and their ownership was registered. This was done by all sorts of people; Shorto mentions "merchants and traders, coopers, blacksmiths, weavers, glaziers, basketmakers, bronze founders, cutlers, rope makers and even seven house keepers". Also women. 1143 people subscribed in total.
Investors who wanted to trade their shares met on the New Bridge (near the later built Central Station) and on agreeing a trade, they would march over to the VOC headquarters to formalize the transaction with the company bookkeeper, on payment of 2.20 guilders tax and an 0.60 fee for the bookkeeper. In foul weather, they might occasionally be allowed to conduct their business in the nearby St. Olof's Chapel. It was only in 1611 that a building was completed to house the traders and brokers (Shorto says that the latter were licensed, but it's unclear by whom).
According to Shorto the ability to trade in company shares in the secondary market was a first, so this made the Amsterdam Exchange the very first stock exchange. And soon after the trade in shares started, there followed also the ability to trade in derivates such as call options, repos, and futures contracts. And inevitably, financial fraud. (naked) Short selling was also allowed, which led one enterprising gentleman named Isaac Le Maire (who was a founding director of the VOC and had been forced out) to start a rumor campaign about company vessels being lost at sea. He had of course first sold VOC shares forward at a high price and was now able to buy them cheaply as a result and fulfill his trades. This led to a banning of the practice, but not for long. Another innovation was the the payment of dividends; these were at first paid in kind, so that one investor in 1610 received a dividend on the order of 5,000 pounds of mace, and later dividends were paid in sacks of pepper and nutmeg. Only by 1618 did the VOC switch to cash dividends. (all this paraphrased from Shorto's book)
Another source that you might find interesting is "The world's first stock exchange", a 2012 book by Lodewijk Petram ("De Bakermat van de Beurs" in Dutch). I haven't read it myself yet but it got good reviews.