Aruba 5 Florin ‘Warawara’ silver coin (2022 Royal Dutch Mint)
We’ve never covered the Royal Dutch Mint’s Aruba-issued silver coin series before, a strange omission, but with the sixth annual issue having recently arrived, we felt a Quicklook was warranted. Aruba is an island located in the southern region of the Caribbean Sea, and is not a colony, but a constituent part of the Netherlands, along with Sint Maarten, and Curaçao. Despite its small size (just 179 sq. km), it’s home to over 100,000 people, who survive in a dry, arid climate, heavily dependent on tourism after the collapse of the oil industry.
The island is home to some beautiful wildlife, and it’s here that the Royal Dutch Mint has drawn inspiration for this series. The Warawara, more widely known as the Caracara, is one of the biggest falcons in the world by body mass, second only to the Gyrfalcon. They munch on reptiles, insects, birds and mammals, even hunting on the ground, although they predominantly scavenge. An elegant bird, they’re found all over Central and Northern regions of South America.
The coins are fairly simple affairs. A wide border surrounds a coloured image of the animal, with the obverse sporting the Aruba coat-of-arms, bordered by issue inscriptions. Struck in 25 grams of sterling (0.925) silver, this 38 mm diameter coin has a mintage of 700 pieces, and comes boxed with a C.O.A. The 2018 Soldachi, and 2021 Yuwana coins are also still available, but the Turtuga, Bienchi, and Prikichi issues are sold out at the mint. Available now.
I have wanted to start this set but keep forgetting about it until this. Now I have the complete set. It took a bit to find the other three, but it is possible for a few extra bucks and some time searching the net.