Aruba KM#2 10 Cents 1986-2026 XF (random year)

The Aruba 10 Cent is the second denomination of the Aruban florin, issued continuously since 1986 when Aruba separated from the Netherlands Antilles and established its own currency. Slightly larger than the 5 cent but sharing the same design language, it carries the Coat of Arms of Aruba on the obverse — a design unchanged across four decades and two monarchs. Year and mint mark are random; see the Varieties section for the full list of possible mint master marks.

Obverse

• Colors: bright nickel-silver overall; matte field with raised devices
• Central device: Coat of Arms of Aruba — featuring a quartered shield with the island's star, an eagle, and traditional Aruban motifs, beneath the legend ARUBA
• Legend: ARUBA above, year below, flanked by privy mark and mint master mark
• Engraver: Evelino Fingal

Reverse

• Colors: bright nickel-silver; geometric line structure with filled shapes
• Design: 10 c above a stylized geometric pattern — abstract and modernist, a deliberate departure from the portrait-heavy tradition of Dutch coinage
• Engraver: Evelino Fingal

Other Characteristics

• Varieties: you may receive any variety:
  • 1986–1987 — Anvil privy mark (Jan de Jong, Mint Master)
  • 1989–2000 — Bow and arrow privy mark (Chris van Draanen, Mint Master)
  • 2000–2001 — Bow and arrow with star (Erik Jan van Schouwenburg, Acting Mint Master)
  • 2001–2002 — Vine leaf and grapes (Robert Bruens, Mint Master)
  • 2002–2003 — Vine leaf and grapes with star (Maarten Theodoor Brouwer, Acting Mint Master)
  • 2003–2015 — Sailboat (Maarten Theodoor Brouwer, Mint Master)
  • 2015–2016 — Sailboat with star (Kees Bruinsma, Acting Mint Master)
  • 2017–2021 — Bridge (Stephan Satijn, Mint Master)
  • 2022–date — Bird (Bert van Ravenswaaij, Mint Master)
• Catalog numbers: KM# 2; Numista N#5590
• Composition: Nickel plated steel
• Weight: 3 g
• Diameter: 18 mm
• Edge: Plain
• Orientation: Coin alignment (↑↓)
• Issuing entity: Centrale Bank van Aruba
• Mint: Royal Dutch Mint (Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt), Utrecht, Netherlands
• Privy mark: Utrecht mint mark (caduceus/staff) present on all issues
• Currency: Aruban florin (1986–date)
• Official language(s): Papiamento, Dutch

The Coin That Launched a Currency

The Aruba 10 Cent is one of the founding pieces of an entirely new monetary system. On 1 January 1986, Aruba achieved Status Aparte — a separate status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, distinct from the Netherlands Antilles it had been part of since 1954. With that political separation came a new currency: the Aruban florin, replacing the Netherlands Antillean guilder at par. The 10 Cent was among the first coins struck, designed by Evelino Fingal, an Aruban artist whose geometric reverse design gave the new nation's coinage a distinctly modern, Caribbean identity. Every year since, the same design has been struck — only the year and the mint master's privy mark change.

The Coat of Arms: A New Nation's Symbol

The Coat of Arms of Aruba that dominates the obverse was adopted alongside the island's new status in 1986. It features a four-pointed star representing the four languages spoken on the island (Papiamento, Dutch, English, and Spanish), an eagle symbolizing freedom, and traditional Aruban imagery. The arms appear on every denomination of the florin coinage — making the 10 Cent a natural companion to the 5 Cent in any Aruban type set.

Reading the Mint Marks: A Forty-Year Chronicle

One of the quiet pleasures of collecting Aruban coinage is the mint master privy mark — a small symbol struck alongside the Utrecht mint's caduceus that identifies which mint master oversaw production that year. The series spans nine different marks across four decades: from the anvil of Jan de Jong in the founding years (1986–1987), through the bow and arrow of the long-serving Chris van Draanen (1989–2000), to the current bird of Bert van Ravenswaaij (2022–date). Acting mint masters are identified by a star added to the incumbent's mark — a Dutch numismatic tradition dating back centuries. The coin you receive will carry one of these marks; each is a small timestamp of Dutch minting history embedded in an Aruban coin.

About Aruba

• Origin of name: Disputed — possibly from the Arawak words ora ubao ("well-situated") or oruba ("accompanied by wind"); the Spanish also used isla de oro (island of gold), though no significant gold was found
• Capital: Oranjestad — pop. ~35,000 (2023)
  • Origin of name: Dutch for "Orange City," named after the House of Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal family
• Population: ~107,000 (UN 2023) — roughly the size of Peoria, Illinois
• Area: 180 km² (69 mi²) — roughly the size of Washington, D.C.
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$37,000 (IMF est.) — one of the highest in the Caribbean
• Main exports: Tourism services (~90% of GDP); refined petroleum products (historically); aloe vera
• Borders: None — island nation; nearest neighbors are Venezuela (~29 km south) and Curaçao (~68 km east)
• Official/spoken languages: Papiamento (native creole, primary spoken language); Dutch (official, government and education); English and Spanish widely spoken
• Ethnicities: Mixed Aruban (predominantly Arawak, African, and European descent, ~75%); Dutch and other European (~15%); Latin American (~10%)
• Memberships: Kingdom of the Netherlands (constituent country, 1986–date); CARICOM (observer); ACS (associate member)
• Sovereignty: Status Aparte within the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1 January 1986; not independent — Dutch citizens, Dutch passport, Dutch monarch as head of state

Own this coin and hold a piece of one of the Caribbean's most successful small economies — an 18 mm disc of nickel-plated steel that has outlasted currencies, governments, and mint masters since 1986, unchanged in design and unwavering in its quiet pride. The year and mint mark you receive are a surprise; the quality is not.