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local Thursday 3 augusT 2023

Did you know about...?

The history and meaning of the Aruban florin

(Oranjestad)—Aruba To- ed. There is also a Purun
day is proud to officially di ceramica (clay pot), in
introduce a new seg- reference to the relics left
ment called Did you know behind by our indigenous
about…?, where we dive ancestors.
into some (historical) facts
of Aruba, its culture and 50 florin
way of living. In this first edi- On this bill, we see the
tion, we look back at the Cododo (blue lizard found
Aruban florin: its history, de- on the ABC islands), Can-
sign and symbolism. greu di tera (land crab),
Willem III Tower, and again
In Aruba, we know the 5, the symbols of Cas Floria
10, 25 and 50 cent coins, with a piece of mosaic,
along with the 1 and 5 Flo- as well as a beach plant
rin coin. Aruban Florin bills called Banana di rif. The
include the 10, 25, 50, 100, colors are pink/purple.
and rarely, the 200 bills. In
Papiamento we call our 100 florin
currency Florin, but the This bill is green in color, rep-
umbrella term for money resenting nature. Here we
is placa. Cents are called see the Yuwana (Iguana),
cen (pronounced: seng), Aloe, Toteki (lizard), the
both in the singular and had distinctive names and Aruba on a single piece of cluded additional designs symbols of Cas Floria with
plural form. Most coins are also varied in worth. For ex- paper. that represent the Aruban a piece of mosaic, and a
circular and their size de- ample, a 5-cent coin was culture and link to the In- dance group performing
pend on their worth. How- once called Dos placa; Prior to 2019, the Aruban digenous inhabitants that the Baile di cinta (forkloric
ever, the 50 cent coin is 10-cent coins were called Florin bills were relatively were the first to set foot on dance with silk ribbons).
easily recognizable by their debchi; 25-cent coins were simpler in design com- the island.
square shape, as is the 5 called diez placa and the pared to now, but still in- 200 florin
Florin coin by their golden 50-cent coin was once cluded beautiful designs Current design and sym- There is another bill with a
color. Every coin has the called Yotin (pronounced: and colors, often depicting bolism value of 200 dollars. The
Aruban emblem carved jo-teen). We also used a local animals. These past 10 florin brown color symbolizes
on it, with the other side distinctive coins worth 2 ½ designs were made by the On the 10-florin bill, you the earth of Aruba. Here
displaying the worth of the cents, called placa too. Aruban artist Everino Fingal can see a Turtuga blanco we see the Dornasol and
coin. The bigger 1 and 5 flo- However, this last coin is in 1990 up to 2019. Between (white turtle). The blue col- the Warawara—both lo-
rin coins, however, contain no longer in use and has 1990 and 1993, the 5 Flo- or symbolizes the blue Ca- cal birds, along with the
the carving of the emblem become a relic of Aruban rin coin was a bill. The Fin- ribbean Sea. You can also symbols of Cas Floria with
on one side, while display- money. Back then, the gal designs also included see the ruins of the Bushirib- a piece of mosaic, the
ing the side profile of the 5-Florin coin used to also be a 500-Florin bill, which has ana Gold Mill Ruins, a coral Tuna cactus plant, and the
Dutch king, Willem-Alexan- square, but now it is circu- now been discontinued. motif, and the symbols of Caha di orgel (folkloric in-
der, on the other side. When lar. Cas Floria (traditional Aru- strument, used for many
his mother, Princess Beatrix, In 2019, the Central Bank ban house design) with a traditional songs).
was reigning queen, it was Aruban bills: their design of Aruba commissioned a piece of mosaic.
her profile that was carved and symbolism new design of the Aruba Extra fact:
on the two coins. The Aruban Florin collection Florin bills, this time select- 25 florin the word “florin” supposed-
contains a variation of col- ing artist and former art On this orange bill, you can ly is named after the Italian
Outdated Aruban coins orful bills, displaying incred- teacher, Nigel Matthew, see an Aruban medicinal city of Florence or it’s a ref-

and their names ibly detailed and beautiful to present his new design. plant called Shoshoro. The erence to the Italian word
In the past, Aruban coins designs that tell the story of Matthew kept the tradition birds Trupiaal, Shoco, rock “florino”, both explanations
of including local animals drawings, and the symbols related to historical Italian
and the familiar colors on of Cas Floria with a piece currencies.q
the bills. However, he in- of mosaic are also depict-