Traditional commons scholarship, and in particular common-pool resource (CPR) theory, argues that historical commons institutions were autonomous, little influenced by either markets or states, and that commercialisation and sustainable collective use of common-pool resources were incompatible. This paper examines to what extent this view holds true. It does so by analysing historical sources on two local cases of peat commercialisation from raised bog commons in the early modern Low Countries: the Bakelse gemeint in the Peel region, and the commune de Xhoffraix in the Hautes Fagnes. The significance of peat commercialisation from commons was notably in its permanence, recurrence, and/or regional outreach, rather than in its limited volume share in total peat exploitation. Dire financial need of communities with high debts and taxes can partly explain the motives for peat commercialisation. Viewed over the longer term mere opportunity to gain some money was a plausible additional motive. In addition, stately institutions could influentially interfere in commons management in times of (internal) conflict. Sources indicate a pragmatic attitude towards peat commercialisation by these institutions, possibly to foster social peace and local prosperity in times of resource contestation and economic hardship. This study adds a novel intermediate category of peat exploitation to the traditional binary subdivision in domestic peat extraction from commons versus large-scale commercial exploitation of privatised bogs. We demonstrate that long-term use of common-pool resources could go together with a moderate degree of commercialisation. Rather than being fully autonomous, commons institutions were - structurally or at times of internal conflict - clearly impacted by markets, notions of private property, and stately institutions.