Catalog
25 Gulden
| Issuer | De Surinaamsche Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1865-1913 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | An elaborate arabesque and volute border frame, printed in blue on pink-tinted paper, encloses the full composition; the Surinamese coat of arms — two Indigenous figures flanking an oval medallion with a sailing vessel, surmounted by the motto banner Justitia Pietas Fides — is positioned at the top centre. The denomination VIJF EN TWINTIG GULDEN is set in bold letterpress across the centre field, with the place name Paramaribo and the manuscript issue date appearing above and below respectively, and the numeral 25 occupying each corner. A lower vignette along the bottom margin renders an allegorical colonial harbour scene with European and Indigenous figures on a beach, palm trees, pyramidal structures, and a square-rigged vessel at anchor, all executed in fine intaglio line engraving. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DE SURINAAMSCHE BANK te Paramaribo betaalt aan Tonder in gangbare Specie VIJF EN TWINTIG GULDEN PARAMARIBO Joh. Enschedé en Zonen, Haarlem (Translation: The Suriname Bank in Paramaribo pays to bearer in current specie Twenty-Five Guilders Paramaribo, Printed by Joh. Enschedé and Sons, Haarlem) |
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| Comments |
De Surinaamsche Bank was established in 1865 as a private institution with the right of issue, granted by the Dutch colonial government — an arrangement that persisted well into the twentieth century and made it unusual among colonial currency authorities of the period. The Enschedé firm in Haarlem, one of the most technically accomplished security printers in Europe, supplied notes to the bank across a remarkably long production run for this series.
The span of nearly five decades covered by Pick 46 means that individual examples may differ in signature combinations, hand-entered dates, or minor typographic adjustments between print runs. Suriname's small population and limited commercial activity kept circulation volumes low, which partly accounts for the relative scarcity of surviving specimens today.