So I'm trying to get a grasp of this whole dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. Ok here goes. Correct me if I'm wrong. The Netherlands Antilles as of 10 October 2010 is no longer in existence. Currency: ANG (Gulden) The island of Aurba seceded in 1986 Currency: Aruban Florin Curacao is now an constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Currency: ANG (Gulden)
Sint Maarten is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. What does that mean exactly? Currency: ANG (Gulden) Caribbean Netherlands: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or the BES Islands are official public bodies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Can anyone clarify that? Is that a state, colony, province, territory? Currency: ANG (Gulden)
Bonaire is an official public body of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Currency: USD Question: Why do they use the US Dollar and not the ANG like Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba do?
Of these four, only Sint Maarten uses the ANG - the others (the "BES Islands" or Caribbean Netherlands) use the US dollar. Practically there is not that much difference anyway as the ANG has a fixed USD exchange rate (see below). The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four "landen" (countries): Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and "Nederland". The latter refers to the (European) Netherlands plus Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten have a higher degree of autonomy, and may one day be fully independent. (Of course the latter would also mean fewer subsidies from the European NL.) Aruba has had its "own" currency, the Florin, since the mid-1980s, which is pegged to the USD too. Curaçao and Sint Maarten will fairly soon have their own central bank and currency (Caribbean Guilder, also with USD peg, I think). Until then, they keep using the ANG. The BES islands are "bijzondere gemeenten" within the Netherlands. So in a way they are cities, but they do not belong to any of the Dutch provinces. Most Dutch laws and other regulations get adapted, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Netherlands#Administration. These three smaller places decided to not have a currency which is pegged to the US dollar, but to use the USD directly. Christian
Nice stuff, Sir. Always a pleasure to see your coins, plus the pics make a good reference point for newcomers. Have you ever thought of placing your pics into the albums page on your profile?
