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10 Centen West-Indische Bank
| Issuer | West-Indische Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837-1848 |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Royal Joh. Enschedé (Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé, Johan Enschede en Zonen), Haarlem, Netherlands (1703-date) |
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| Obverse description | Uniface note printed in brown on plain paper. The border is composed of a musical notes ornament designed by J.M. Fleischman, forming a distinctive typographic frame around the central text. The denomination and issuing authority are stated in letterpress, with provision for manuscript or printed signature varieties. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Uniface note; the reverse is blank with no printed design or lettering. |
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| Comments |
The West-Indische Bank was established by royal decree in 1828 to stabilize currency in the Dutch Caribbean colonies, particularly Suriname and Curaçao, where a chaotic mix of foreign coin and depreciated paper had made ordinary commerce genuinely difficult. This 10 Centen note sits at the extreme low end of that system's denominations — fractional paper issued because small silver simply wasn't available in sufficient quantity in the colonies.
Enschedé had been printing securities and currency for Dutch colonial institutions since the early nineteenth century, and this series reflects their characteristic restraint. The nearly square format is unusual even by small-denomination standards of the period.