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2 1/2 Gulden Muntbiljet
| Issuer | Gouvernement van Curaçao |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Reference(s) | P#36 |
| Obverse description | Printed in blue on white paper, the obverse carries a central vignette of a Curaçao harbour scene, with the denomination numerals 2 1/2 flanking the vignette at left and right. The title CURAÇAO MUNTBILJET appears at the top, with the full verbal denomination TWEE EN EEN HALVE GULDEN and the legend WETTIG BETAALMIDDEL below, along with the signatures of the Administrator of Finance and the Governor of Curaçao. The printer's imprint of the American Bank Note Company appears at the lower margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | CURAÇAO Strafwetboek artikel Curaçao 1942 2 1/2 TWEE EN EEN HALVE GULDEN WETTIG BETAALMIDDEL AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY (Translation: Curaçao Penal Code Article Curaçao 1942 2 1/2 Two and a Half Gulden Legal Tender American Bank Note Company) |
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| Comments |
When Germany occupied the Netherlands in May 1940, the Dutch Caribbean territories were suddenly cut off from their financial infrastructure in The Hague. Curaçao, critically important as a refining hub for Venezuelan crude oil supplying Allied forces, needed functioning currency without access to its normal channels. The result was a series of emergency government notes — muntbiljetten — authorized directly by the colonial administration rather than through any central bank mechanism.
The American Bank Note Company had long-standing relationships with Dutch colonial authorities, and the wartime geography made New York the only practical option. This denomination, the awkward 2½ gulden, reflects the deeply ingrained Dutch monetary tradition of the "rijksdaalder" unit — a fraction that would have seemed strange to anyone outside the Dutch monetary system but was entirely conventional to Antillean users.