Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao): copper-nickel-zinc 5-cents of Queen Wilhelmina, 1943

Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao): copper-nickel-zinc 5-cents of Queen Wilhelmina, 1943


Obverse: orange branch with fruit in inner circle, surrounded by inscription KONINGRIJK · DER · NEDERLANDEN ("Kingdom of the Netherlands"), with outer border of stylized ocean waves.
Reverse: denomination within circles divides date at sides; seashells at corners.
Issuer: Dutch government of Queen Wilhelmina (in exile in London during the German occupation), for use in Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles.
Specifications: Copper-nickel-zinc, 21.3 mm, 4.3 g (per Numista). Mintage 2,000,000.
Grade: PCGS MS64; cert. #38842014.
Reference: KM-40, Numista-167701.
Provenance: ex-"coinvana_com", eBay, 15 August 2020. (As a gift from my sister, Elizabeth.)
Notes: these coins were struck under contract at the United States Mint in Philadelphia, which produced a large variety of issues for Allied foreign governments during the Second World War. This design type was used in the Dutch homeland from 1913 up until the German invasion of 1940. This Curaçao issue was struck at the US Mint in a slightly different alloy than the earlier homeland coins.
Comments: I have always liked this type for its squarish (lozenge) shape, the seashells, and the orange branch (which I suspect is an allusion to the House of Orange-Nassau, the reigning monarchy of the Netherlands). It's an attractive design, which likely had Art Deco influences.
Additional images

005298/000473S

 

I have found a bunch in bulk lots over the years.

My sister sent me a PayPal gift (because she's a nice sister), and so I had a little money to burn. I liked this and realized I needed another "non-round" coin in the collection, ever since I sold my Japanese 2-bu last year.

Interestingly (if you're a slab geek), it has two sets of official PCGS TrueView images. There is a US-style TrueView showing just the coin, and then a PCGS international-style TrueView with the full slab image. Maybe it was first certified abroad and later went to PCGS in the US to be reimaged. Dunno.

 

Indeed.