Page 12 - AHATA

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local Tuesday 19 december 2023

Did you know about...?

The history and meaning of the Aruban florin

(Oranjestad)—Aruba Today is mosaic.
proud to officially introduce a new
segment called Did you know 25 florin
about…?, where we dive into some On this orange bill, you can see
(historical) facts of Aruba, its cul- an Aruban medicinal plant called
ture and way of living. In this first Shoshoro. The birds Trupiaal, Sho-
edition, we look back at the Aru- co, rock drawings, and the symbols
ban florin: its history, design and of Cas Floria with a piece of mo-
symbolism. saic are also depicted. There is also
a Purun di ceramica (clay pot), in
In Aruba, we know the 5, 10, 25 reference to the relics left behind
and 50 cent coins, along with the by our indigenous ancestors.
1 and 5 Florin coin. Aruban Flo-
rin bills include the 10, 25, 50, 100, 50 florin
and rarely, the 200 bills. In Papia- On this bill, we see the Cododo
mento we call our currency Florin, (blue lizard found on the ABC is-
but the umbrella term for money is lands), Cangreu di tera (land crab),
placa. Cents are called cen (pro- Willem III Tower, and again the
nounced: seng), both in the singu- symbols of Cas Floria with a piece
lar and plural form. Most coins are of mosaic, as well as a beach plant
circular and their size depend on called Banana di rif. The colors are
their worth. However, the 50 cent pink/purple.
coin is easily recognizable by their placa and the 50-cent coin was depicting local animals. These past
square shape, as is the 5 Florin coin once called Yotin (pronounced: designs were made by the Aruban 100 florin
by their golden color. Every coin jo-teen). We also used a distinc- artist Everino Fingal in 1990 up to This bill is green in color, repre-
has the Aruban emblem carved tive coins worth 2 ½ cents, called 2019. Between 1990 and 1993, the senting nature. Here we see the
on it, with the other side displaying placa too. However, this last coin is 5 Florin coin was a bill. The Fingal Yuwana (Iguana), Aloe, Toteki (liz-
the worth of the coin. The bigger 1 no longer in use and has become designs also included a 500-Florin ard), the symbols of Cas Floria with
and 5 florin coins, however, con- a relic of Aruban money. Back bill, which has now been discontin- a piece of mosaic, and a dance
tain the carving of the emblem on then, the 5-Florin coin used to also ued. group performing the Baile di cinta
one side, while displaying the side be square, but now it is circular. (forkloric dance with silk ribbons).
profile of the Dutch king, Willem-Al- In 2019, the Central Bank of Aruba
exander, on the other side. When Aruban bills: their design and sym- commissioned a new design of the 200 florin
his mother, Princess Beatrix, was bolism Aruba Florin bills, this time select- There is another bill with a value of
reigning queen, it was her profile The Aruban Florin collection con- ing artist and former art teacher, 200 dollars. The brown color sym-
that was carved on the two coins. tains a variation of colorful bills, Nigel Matthew, to present his new bolizes the earth of Aruba. Here
displaying incredibly detailed and design. Matthew kept the tradition we see the Dornasol and the War-
Outdated Aruban coins and their beautiful designs that tell the story of including local animals and the awara—both local birds, along
names of Aruba on a single piece of pa- familiar colors on the bills. Howev- with the symbols of Cas Floria with
In the past, Aruban coins had dis- per. er, he included additional designs a piece of mosaic, the Tuna cac-
tinctive names and also varied in that represent the Aruban culture tus plant, and the Caha di orgel
worth. For example, a 5-cent coin Prior to 2019, the Aruban Florin bills and link to the Indigenous inhabit- (folkloric instrument, used for many
was once called Dos placa; 10- were relatively simpler in design ants that were the first to set foot traditional songs).
cent coins were called debchi; compared to now, but still included on the island.
25-cent coins were called diez beautiful designs and colors, often
Current design and symbolism Extra fact:
10 florin the word “florin” supposedly is
On the 10-florin bill, you can see a named after the Italian city of
Turtuga blanco (white turtle). The Florence or it’s a reference to the
blue color symbolizes the blue Ca- Italian word “florino”, both expla-
ribbean Sea. You can also see the nations related to historical Italian
ruins of the Bushiribana Gold Mill currencies.q
Ruins, a coral motif, and the sym-
bols of Cas Floria (traditional Aru- Source: Placa, placa, placa by the
ban house design) with a piece of National Library of Aruba