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local Wednesday 18 OctOber 2023

Did you know about...?

The history and meaning of the Aruban florin

(Oranjestad)—Aruba To- reference to the relics left
day is proud to officially behind by our indigenous
introduce a new seg- ancestors.
ment called Did you know
about…?, where we dive 50 florin
into some (historical) facts On this bill, we see the
of Aruba, its culture and Cododo (blue lizard found
way of living. In this first edi- on the ABC islands), Can-
tion, we look back at the greu di tera (land crab),
Aruban florin: its history, de- Willem III Tower, and again
sign and symbolism. the symbols of Cas Floria
with a piece of mosaic,
In Aruba, we know the 5, as well as a beach plant
10, 25 and 50 cent coins, called Banana di rif. The
along with the 1 and 5 Flo- colors are pink/purple.
rin coin. Aruban Florin bills
include the 10, 25, 50, 100, 100 florin
and rarely, the 200 bills. In This bill is green in color, rep-
Papiamento we call our resenting nature. Here we
currency Florin, but the see the Yuwana (Iguana),
umbrella term for money Aloe, Toteki (lizard), the
is placa. Cents are called symbols of Cas Floria with
cen (pronounced: seng), a piece of mosaic, and a
both in the singular and that represent the Aruban dance group performing
plural form. Most coins are culture and link to the In- the Baile di cinta (forkloric
circular and their size de- digenous inhabitants that dance with silk ribbons).
pend on their worth. How- were the first to set foot on
ever, the 50 cent coin is the island. 200 florin
easily recognizable by their There is another bill with a
square shape, as is the 5 Current design value of 200 dollars. The
Florin coin by their golden and symbolism brown color symbolizes
color. Every coin has the 10 florin the earth of Aruba. Here
Aruban emblem carved On the 10-florin bill, you we see the Dornasol and
on it, with the other side can see a Turtuga blanco the Warawara—both lo-
displaying the worth of the (white turtle). The blue col- cal birds, along with the
coin. The bigger 1 and 5 flo- or symbolizes the blue Ca- symbols of Cas Floria with
rin coins, however, contain ribbean Sea. You can also a piece of mosaic, the
the carving of the emblem see the ruins of the Bushirib- Tuna cactus plant, and the
on one side, while display- ana Gold Mill Ruins, a coral Caha di orgel (folkloric in-
ing the side profile of the motif, and the symbols of strument, used for many
Dutch king, Willem-Alexan- Cas Floria (traditional Aru- traditional songs).
der, on the other side. When ban house design) with a
his mother, Princess Beatrix, piece of mosaic. Extra fact:
was reigning queen, it was Aruban bills: their design of Aruba commissioned a the word “florin” supposed-
her profile that was carved and symbolism new design of the Aruba 25 florin ly is named after the Italian
on the two coins. The Aruban Florin collection Florin bills, this time select- On this orange bill, you can city of Florence or it’s a ref-
contains a variation of col- ing artist and former art see an Aruban medicinal erence to the Italian word

Outdated Aruban coins orful bills, displaying incred- teacher, Nigel Matthew, plant called Shoshoro. The “florino”, both explanations
and their names ibly detailed and beautiful to present his new design. birds Trupiaal, Shoco, rock related to historical Italian
In the past, Aruban coins designs that tell the story of Matthew kept the tradition drawings, and the symbols currencies.q
had distinctive names and Aruba on a single piece of of including local animals of Cas Floria with a piece
also varied in worth. For ex- paper. and the familiar colors on of mosaic are also depict- Source: Placa, placa, placa by
the National Library of Aruba
ample, a 5-cent coin was the bills. However, he in- ed. There is also a Purun
once called Dos placa; Prior to 2019, the Aruban cluded additional designs di ceramica (clay pot), in
10-cent coins were called Florin bills were relatively
debchi; 25-cent coins were simpler in design com-
called diez placa and the pared to now, but still in-
50-cent coin was once cluded beautiful designs
called Yotin (pronounced: and colors, often depicting
jo-teen). We also used a local animals. These past
distinctive coins worth 2 ½ designs were made by the
cents, called placa too. Aruban artist Everino Fingal
However, this last coin is in 1990 up to 2019. Between
no longer in use and has 1990 and 1993, the 5 Flo-
become a relic of Aruban rin coin was a bill. The Fin-
money. Back then, the gal designs also included
5-Florin coin used to also be a 500-Florin bill, which has
square, but now it is circu- now been discontinued.
lar.
In 2019, the Central Bank