Catalog
25 Centen
| Issuer | Curaçaosche Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1892 |
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| Currency | Gulden (1828-date) |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress on green guilloche underprint, with an ornate cartouche at centre bearing the bank title 'Curaçaosche Bank' in Gothic script above the denomination 'VYFEN TWINTIG CENTEN' in bold type, with the payability clause in Dutch inscribed below. A rounded vignette at upper left carries the fractional value '0.25', while the serial number appears twice in the lower field. The composition is enclosed within a decorative border with corner flourishes, with the printer's imprint 'Hamilton Bank Note Co., New York' set at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CURAÇAO, 1892. Goed voor f 0.25 Nº4304 Curaçaosche Bank VYFEN TWINTIG CENTEN betaalbaar op vertoon aan Toonder by de directie van de Bank te Curaçao Goed voor VYFEN TWINTIG CENTEN in specie. Hamilton Bank Note Co., New York (Translation: CURACAO, 1892. Good for f 0.25 Nº4304 Curacao Bank Twenty Five Cents payable on presentation to Bearer at the management of the Bank in Curaçao Good for Twenty Five Cents in specie. Hamilton Bank Note Co., New York) |
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| Comments |
The Curaçaosche Bank was established by royal decree in 1828 as the sole issuing institution for the Dutch Caribbean territories, making it one of the oldest colonial banks in the Western Hemisphere still operating under a formal charter at the time this note was printed. A fractional denomination in paper was an unusual choice for a Caribbean colonial issuer — most preferred coin for small transactions — but chronic shortages of low-value specie in Curaçao forced the bank's hand repeatedly throughout the nineteenth century.
Hamilton Bank Note Company handled relatively few foreign colonial contracts compared to rivals like ABNC, and their Caribbean output is sparsely documented. This 1892 issue is among the earlier surviving examples of their work for a Dutch colonial client.