Catalog
1/2 Gulden - 50 cent Silver voucher
| Issuer | Suriname |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940-1942 |
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| Printer | American Bank Note Company, New York, United States |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | SURINAME ZILVERBON GROOT EEN HALVE GULDEN WORDT TER BETALING AANGENOMEN DOOR DE SURINAAMSCHE BANK EN AAN ALLE LANDSKASSEN. INWISSELBAAR IN ZILVER NA AANKONDIGING GEREGISTREERD: PARAMARIBO, 30 October 1940. AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY (Translation: Suriname Silver Voucher Half Gulden Is accepted in payment by the Suriname Bank and at all government cashiers. Redeemable in Silver after announcement. Registered: Paramaribo, 30 October 1940. American Bank Note Company) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | SURINAME EEN HALVE GULDEN WETTIG BETAALMIDDEL HET NAMAKEN OF VERVALSCHEN VAN DIE ALS ECHT EN ONVERVALSCHT UIT GESTRAFT MET GEVANGENISSTRAF VAN ZILVERBONS MET HET OOGMERK OM TE GEVEN OF TE DOEN UITGEVEN WORDT TEN HOOGSTE NEGEN JAREN. (Translation: Suriname Half Gulden Legal Tender. The counterfeiting or falsification of silver vouchers with the intent to pass or cause to be passed as genuine and unadulterated is punishable by imprisonment of up to nine years.) |
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| Comments |
Suriname's wartime silver vouchers exist because the colony's metallic coin supply became essentially impossible to maintain after the German occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940 severed normal trade and shipping routes. These fractional paper notes were a direct administrative response to that disruption — an attempt to keep the local economy functional when metal coinage could no longer be reliably produced or imported.
The American Bank Note Company contract reflects Suriname's wartime pivot toward the United States, which had taken over as the practical guarantor of Dutch colonial continuity in the Western Hemisphere. Pick #104 is the smaller of two denominations issued under this emergency arrangement.