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Aruba

Aruba is an island that lies in the Caribbean Sea, southwest of the Lesser Antilles and northwest of Curacao. It was part of the Netherlands Antilles until it became a constituent of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986. The population of the island consists of a mix of American Indian descent as well as Dutch, Spanish, and African cultures. The land was used to be a place for horse breeding by the colonial government with locals as herdsmen until the 18th century when the land was sold to colonists.

Aruba possesses lengthy stretches of white sand and pristine waters, rough coastlines, and desert, making the island attractive to tourists. The Aruban economy is based on services, primarily on tourism, offshore banking, and other services. Although there were attempts to grow aloe, the agricultural sector is still irrelevant while gold mining which started in 1824 was stopped in the 20th century. In the 1920s, the economy advanced as oil refining began at the port of Sint Nicolaas. However, it was discontinued in 1985 which caused a severe economic crisis. To address the crisis, the government broaden the tourism sector and built luxury hotels and casinos. The oil refinery opened again in 1990 and started operating in 1993 but it was shut again in 2012, following a loss for several years.

The Aruba florin is the state island’s official currency. It was established by the Central Bank of Aruba on January 1, 1986, when the state became an autonomous country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Transitional banknotes released from 1986 to 1989 were of low security, lithographed on fluorescent fiber-embedded paper bearing no security threads and watermark. These notes were all in a combination of green and rust and have a unified obverse design, featuring the Aruban flag, the Aruba Sheraton Hotel and the Aruba Caribbean Hotel in Palm Beach, a windmill, and sailboats. The back depicts the coat of arms of the country.

A new set of banknotes was introduced in 1990 and in 1993, featuring the design by Evelino Fingal. These banknotes are in vibrant colors and bear intaglio features and a divi-divi watermark. The 2019 series of Aruban banknotes are themed “Life in Aruba” highlighting the nation’s fauna, flora, monuments, cultural heritage, and landmarks.
 

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