Catalog
500 Gulden
| Issuer | De Curaçaosche Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1925 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Gulden (1828-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DE CURAÇAOSCHE BANK BETAALT AAN TOONDER VIJF HONDERD GULDEN Curaçao 1925 (Translation: The Curacao Bank pay to the Bearer Five Hundred Gulden Curaçao 1925) |
| Reverse description | Printed in brown on an intricate guilloche underprint that radiates outward from a central rosette medallion, the reverse bears the large numeral "500" in bold letterpress on both the left and right flanks. A central text panel within the medallion carries a Dutch anti-counterfeiting warning inscription in Gothic script, framed by delicate lathe-work engine-turned patterns throughout. |
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| Comments |
De Curaçaosche Bank was established in 1828 as the sole bank of issue for the Dutch Caribbean territories, and by the 1920s its higher denominations served a commercial economy dominated by the Shell oil refinery that had opened at Willemstad in 1918. A 500 Gulden note was serious money — far beyond everyday retail circulation — and surviving examples reflect that: they passed through relatively few hands and were retired rather than worn out.
Enschedé's involvement with Dutch colonial currency printing stretches back centuries, and their Haarlem presswork on this series is characteristically precise. The Thielen/Schotborgh signature pairing dates this issue to a narrow administrative window within the 1925 series.