Page 10 - AHATA

Tuesday 8 OcTOber 2024 locAl
A10

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

(Oranjestad)—Aruba To- or symbolizes the blue Ca- Aloe, Toteki (lizard), the
day is proud to officially ribbean Sea. You can also symbols of Cas Floria with
introduce a new seg- see the ruins of the Bushirib- a piece of mosaic, and a
ment called Did you know ana Gold Mill Ruins, a coral dance group performing
about…?, where we dive motif, and the symbols of the Baile di cinta (forkloric
into some (historical) facts Cas Floria (traditional Aru- dance with silk ribbons).
of Aruba, its culture and ban house design) with a
way of living. In this first edi- piece of mosaic. 200 florin
tion, we look back at the There is another bill with a
Aruban florin: its history, de- 25 florin value of 200 dollars. The
sign and symbolism. On this orange bill, you can brown color symbolizes the
see an Aruban medicinal earth of Aruba. Here we see

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

10 florin 100 florin
On the 10-florin bill, you This bill is green in color, rep-
can see a Turtuga blanco resenting nature. Here we
(white turtle). The blue col- see the Yuwana (Iguana),