Catalog
50 Gulden
| Issuer | Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1827 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 110 x 88 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CURAÇAO Goed voor f 50 Vijftig Gulden Betaalbaar op vertoon aan Toonder bij Goed voor VIJFTIG GULDEN in Specie. Zegge f 50 Curaçao 1827. (Translation: Curaçao Good for f 50 Fifty Gulden. Payable on presentation to bearer Good for Fifty Gulden Say 50 Curaçao 1827.) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, consistent with the uniface production of this issue. The image shows the obverse text bleeding through the thin paper in mirror image, revealing the musical-note border and typeset legends in reverse, with no intentional design elements on this side. |
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| Comments |
The Curaçao paper money issues of the 1820s emerged from a genuinely unusual colonial monetary situation. The island had no central bank — notes were authorized by the local colonial administration under Dutch authority, circulating alongside Spanish-American silver coins that dominated everyday trade. A 50 Gulden denomination was a large-value instrument in this setting, almost certainly used for merchant transactions rather than retail commerce.
The Plomp reference places this among the earliest documented paper issues for the territory, and surviving examples are exceptionally rare. Most colonial Caribbean paper from this period was redeemed, destroyed, or simply consumed by the climate.