Page 16 - AHATA

A9
LOCAL Monday 2 deceMber 2024

Did you know about...?
The history and meaning of the Aruban florin

(Oranjestad)—Aruba To-
day is proud to officially
introduce a new seg-
ment called Did you know
about…?, where we dive
into some (historical) facts
of Aruba, its culture and
way of living. In this first
edition, we look back at
the Aruban florin: its history,
design and symbolism.
Ruins, a coral motif, and (Iguana), Aloe, Toteki
In Aruba, we know the 5, the symbols of Cas Floria (lizard), the symbols of
10, 25 and 50 cent coins, her profile that was carved Aruba on a single piece of (traditional Aruban house Cas Floria with a piece
along with the 1 and 5 Flo- on the two coins. paper. design) with a piece of of mosaic, and a dance
rin coin. Aruban Florin bills Outdated Aruban coins mosaic. group performing the Baile
include the 10, 25, 50, 100, and their names Prior to 2019, the Aruban 25 florin di cinta (forkloric dance
and rarely, the 200 bills. In In the past, Aruban coins Florin bills were relatively On this orange bill, you can with silk ribbons).
Papiamento we call our had distinctive names and simpler in design com- see an Aruban medicinal
currency Florin, but the also varied in worth. For ex- pared to now, but still in- plant called Shoshoro. The 200 florin

umbrella term for money ample, a 5-cent coin was cluded beautiful designs birds Trupiaal, Shoco, rock There is another bill with a
is placa. Cents are called once called Dos placa; and colors, often depicting drawings, and the symbols value of 200 dollars. The
cen (pronounced: seng), 10-cent coins were called local animals. These past of Cas Floria with a piece of brown color symbolizes
both in the singular and debchi; 25-cent coins were designs were made by the mosaic are also depicted. the earth of Aruba. Here
plural form. Most coins are called diez placa and the Aruban artist Everino Fingal There is also a Purun di we see the Dornasol and
circular and their size de- 50-cent coin was once in 1990 up to 2019. Between ceramica (clay pot), in the Warawara—both
pend on their worth. How- called Yotin (pronounced: 1990 and 1993, the 5 Flo- reference to the relics left local birds, along with the
ever, the 50 cent coin is jo-teen). We also used a rin coin was a bill. The Fin- behind by our indigenous symbols of Cas Floria with
easily recognizable by their distinctive coins worth 2 ½ gal designs also included ancestors. a piece of mosaic, the
square shape, as is the 5 cents, called placa too. a 500-Florin bill, which has Tuna cactus plant, and
Florin coin by their golden However, this last coin is now been discontinued. 50 florin the Caha di orgel (folkloric
color. Every coin has the no longer in use and has On this bill, we see the instrument, used for many
Aruban emblem carved become a relic of Aruban In 2019, the Central Bank Cododo (blue lizard traditional songs).
on it, with the other side money. Back then, the of Aruba commissioned found on the ABC islands),
displaying the worth of the 5-Florin coin used to also a new design of the Cangreu di tera (land Extra fact:
coin. The bigger 1 and 5 flo- be square, but now it is cir- Aruba Florin bills, this time crab), Willem III Tower, the word “florin”
rin coins, however, contain cular. selecting artist and former and again the symbols of supposedly is named after
the carving of the emblem Aruban bills: their design art teacher, Nigel Matthew, Cas Floria with a piece of the Italian city of Florence
on one side, while display- and symbolism to present his new design. mosaic, as well as a beach or it’s a reference to the
ing the side profile of the The Aruban Florin collection Matthew kept the tradition plant called Banana di rif. Italian word “florino”, both
Dutch king, Willem-Alexan- contains a variation of col- of including local animals The colors are pink/purple. explanations related to
der, on the other side. When orful bills, displaying incred- and the familiar colors historical Italian currencies.
his mother, Princess Beatrix, ibly detailed and beautiful on the bills. However, 100 florin
was reigning queen, it was designs that tell the story of he included additional This bill is green in color, Source: Placa, placa,
designs that represent the
Aruban culture and link to representing nature. placa by the National
the Indigenous inhabitants Here we see the Yuwana Library of Aruba
that were the first to set
foot on the island.

Current design and
symbolism
10 florin
On the 10-florin bill, you
can see a Turtuga blanco
(white turtle). The blue
color symbolizes the blue
Caribbean Sea. You can
also see the ruins of the
Bushiribana Gold Mill