...Netherland Antilles - 2016 Full Set Of Four Notes

Netherlands Antilles

(Curacao and Sint Maarten, as at 10.10.2010)

 

Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen

Bank of the Netherlands Antilles, (Est.1828)

Currency - Gulden/Guilder (ANG)

The Netherlands Antilles, also known as the Dutch Antilles are a group of Caribbean islands comprises the islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles region, and Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire in the Leeward Antilles (south of the Caribbean). This country was created in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curacao and Dependencies. This union of tiny nations was then dissolved on 10.10.2010 when each nation was granted specific statues by the government in the Netherlands. Since then, Curacao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, managing their own affairs with the exceptions of defence and foreign policy. 

Since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, the authority continues to issue banknotes under the Netherlands Antilles's name. Aruba withdrew from the union on 01.01.1986 and since then has been issuing it's own currency - the Florin. Member nations like Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Caribbean Netherlands) ceased using the gulden currency and all adopted the United States dollar on 01.01.2011. This leaves Curacao and Sint Maarten the remaining two nations still using the gulden currency.

The arrangement for the gulden currency used by both Curacao and Sint Maarten is due to expire on 30.06.2025. New notes have been planned to be issued in March 2025 which will only be used in Curacao and Sint Maarten only. These new series of banknotes will be issued under the central bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten. Needless to say, the notes that I have posted here are the last series for this nation under the now defunct name. 

 

It is interesting to know that Sint Maarten is a very tiny island in the Lesser Antilles region. It is so tiny that you cannot see the island on a map via the Internet unless you zoom in. Even when you do that, you will also see that this island is split into two almost equal halves, with the top half occupied by the French and the bottom by the Dutch. Both the French and the Dutch called this island the same name, albeit with different spelling. Curacao is the larger of the two islands. The land area for Curacao is 444km2 whilst Sint Maarten is only 34km2 and the distance between these two islands are about 2+ hours apart by air. These two nations have a combined population of 190,000+/-.

 

This Gulden series is the fifth series of banknotes issued since 1955. This series was introduced in 1986 to 1994. In 1998, the bank upgraded this series by adding a gold foil device on the front of all the notes. However, only four notes were issued as the 250 gulden note was not included for this upgrade. The 250 gulden has only been printed once since 1986 and as such no reprints have been issued since then. The 250 gulden note is dated 13.03.1986. 

The theme for this series is 'Bird'. Each note depicts a different bird on the front and on the back, the designs are all the same albeit the colour. All Netherlands Antilles banknotes issued are printed with a year dated since 1955, and in 1962, it added the day and month to all the notes issued.

 

Ten Gulden

Signatures

Director Secretary - Jerrald M. Hasselmeyer

President - Emsley Deonicio Tromp

Series - 2016 

Watermark - Bank seal/logo

Dimensions - 148mm x 67mm

 

Front - An image of a flying Hummingbird, purple-throated carib. This is a species of hummingbird that mainly resides on the islands of the Lesser Antilles region. The purple-throated carib are rather small birds that can grow between 11 to 12 cm long and have a weight between 7-12 grams.

 

Back - Printed in mainly green colour. The central bank seal of Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen printed in the center right. On the back of the note, the date of August 1, 2016 is printed together with the capital city of Curacao, Willemstad printed on top of the date.

 

In addition to the central bank's seal, the note is printed with two sets of serial with 10-digit long. The first 4 digits refer to the series or prefix. The remaining 6-digit is referred to the serial numbers for this series/prefix. On the watermark area, Orion rings are printed to prevent reproduction of the note by normal scanner/counterfeiting. 

Twenty Five Gulden

Signatures

Director Secretary - Jerrald M. Hasselmeyer

President - Emsley Deonicio Tromp

Series - 2016 

Watermark - Bank seal/logo

Dimensions - 148mm x 67mm

 

Front - A flying flamingo. This is a Caribbean flamingo which is tall and is a large bodied bird found in the Caribbean region. It has a long neck and a small head with bright pink colour. The Caribbean flamingo is by far the largest of all the flamingos.

 

Back - Main colour for this note is printed in red and pink. The central bank seal of Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen printed in the center right. On the back of the note, the date of August 1, 2016 is printed together with the capital city of Curacao, Willemstad printed on top of the date. It appears that this 25 gulden is more circulated than the other three notes, and since it was introduced in 1998, this note has been issued the most with 8 prints as compared to 7 for the other notes in this series. However, my assessment may not be correct unless I have the statistics information for all notes issued, as I am aware that not all denominations are printed for the same quantity.

 

Fifty Gulden

Signatures

Director Secretary - Jerrald M. Hasselmeyer

President - Emsley Deonicio Tromp

Series - 2016 

Watermark - Bank seal/logo

Dimensions - 148mm x 66.5mm

 

Front - Rufous-collared sparrow or Andean sparrow. This is an American bird that can be found mostly in Mexico and the Caribbean. This bird has a lifespan of up to ten years. It mainly feeds on seeds, grain, insects and spiders.

 

Back - This note is printed in brown and orange colour. The central bank seal of Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen printed in the center right. On the back of the note, the date of August 1, 2016 is printed together with the capital city of Curacao, Willemstad printed on top of the date.

 

One Hundred Gulden

Signatures

Director Secretary - Jerrald M. Hasselmeyer

President - Emsley Deonicio Tromp

Series - 2016

Watermark - Bank seal/logo

Dimensions - 147.5mm x 67mm

 

Front - The image of a bananaquit (bird). This species of bird can be found mainly in the Caribbean region as well as in the top half of South America. The bananquit lives among human environments and is also sometimes referred to as sugar bird.

Back - This note is mainly brown in colour. The central bank seal of Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen printed in the center right. On the back of the note, the date of August 1, 2016 is printed together with the capital city of Curacao, Willemstad printed on top of the date.