5 Cents

1943 year


Nickel brass (65% copper 12% nickel, 23% zinc or 64% copper, 18% nickel, 18% zinc (Alpaca))	4.3 g	-

Description

Issuer	Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles)
Queen	Wilhelmina (1890-1948)
Type	Standard circulation coin
Year	1943
Value	5 Cents (5 Centen) (0.05&nbspANG)
Currency	Gulden (1828-date)
Composition	Nickel brass (65% copper 12% nickel, 23% zinc or 64% copper, 18% nickel, 18% zinc (Alpaca))
Weight	4.3 g
Size	21.3 mm
Thickness	1.5 mm
Shape	Square with rounded corners (18 x 18 mm)
Technique	Milled
Orientation	Coin alignment ↑↓
Demonetized	Yes
Updated	2024-10-06

References

Numista	N#167701
Rarity index	17%

Reverse

Denomination within circles, shells with 5 beads connected at corners with divided date on the left and right shells

Script: Latin

Lettering:
5c
1943

Unabridged legend: 5 cent

Designer: Johannes Cornelis Wienecke

Edge

Plain

Comment

These coins were struck for both Suriname and Curaçao:

1943 (P)
------ 2'000'000 Curaçao (1'500'000 struck in 1944)
------ 6'595'000 Suriname (all struck in 1944)

The stuivers (5 cents) for Suriname and Curaçao were not made of copper-nickel, as the Dutch stuivers. This material was not available in the United States due to the Second World War. Two loads of copper-nickel-zinc (Gero Silver, after the company Gero, a cutlery factory) were used, with different compositions:

65% Cu + 12% Ni + 23% Zn
64% Cu + 18% Ni + 18% Zn

For Curaçao coins were minted from the first load and from a mixture of both loads. For Suriname coins were minted from the second load, as well as a mixture of both loads.
(Source: "De Beeldenaar" 2014 nr. 6)

While Krause lists these coins under Curaçao (KM#40), more coins were struck for Suriname though, where it is listed in the later editions (KM#A9, 2019). Discussion has taken place where to put these coins in the Numista catalog. In the Dutch catalog Muntalmanak (Schulman), the coin is placed under the Netherlands and in the Dutch catalog regarding the overseas territories (Scholten) the coins can be found under the West-Indies section (1364). Passon catalog places this coin (and others) under 'Coins produced for Curaçao in American mints 1941-1944'.
The concerning referees decided to put them under both the countries on Numista.

Interesting fact

One interesting fact about the 5 Cents 1943 coin from Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles) is that it was made of a unique alloy called Nickel brass, which is a combination of 65% copper, 12% nickel, and 23% zinc. This alloy was specifically used during World War II to reduce the use of copper, which was a critical metal for the war effort. The use of Nickel brass in coin production was a common practice during this time period, and it is a distinctive feature of coins from this era.

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
1943	2000000	-	-	-	-	-	-

Values in the table are based on evaluations by sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only for 5 Cents 1943 coin.