The first commemorative coin of 2023 is a fact: as of today, the Willemstad 5 Euro Coin is available. The historical districts of Punda, Otrobanda, Scharloo and Pietermaai are UNESCO World Heritage since 1997. Therefore, a commemorative coin is struck, commissioned by the Ministry of Finance.
The issues for Willlemstad are available on the website! Willemstad is the capital of the island Curaçao, but also the former capital of the Netherlands Antilles. The Spaniards were the first to discover the island, already before the year 1500. They officially settled on the island in 1527. In 1634, a trading post on St. Anna Bay was conquered by the West Indian Company (WIC). Willemstad then was in Dutch hands, but also in English hands for some years. Since 2010, Curaçao is an independent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Since 1997, the historic districts of Punda, Otrabanda, Scharloo and Pietermaai are part of the Unesco World Heritage. Willemstad is therefore part of a small group of World Heritage Cities that are regarded as monuments because of their cultural and historical value. The unique location of the districts around the water emphasize why Willemstad distinguishes itself as a port city. In addition, Willemstad still presents itself as a historically recognizable city. The Willemstad 5 Euro Coin is already the 10th commemorative coin that is released in the series Dutch World Heritage. Since 2012, many interesting subjects have been covered in the series.
Design
The Willemstad 5 Euro Coin was designed by Cleo Maxime de Brabander. The obverse shows king Willem-Alexander. On the background, the Queen Juliana Bridge in Willemstad is shown. The four stars at the upper part of the obverse represent the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten. The reverse contains a city view with all four districts that are part of the Unesco World Heritage: Punda, Otrobanda, Scharloo and Pietermaai. Several important monuments can be discovered on the coin: the Handelskade (commercial quay), the Mikvé Israël-Emanuel synagogue and Fort Amsterdam in Punda and the Emanu-el temple, which marks the start of the district of Pietermaai.
UNESCO World Heritage
The Willemstad 5 Euro Coin is part of the UNESCO World Heritage series of the Kingdom. UNESCO, part of the United Nations, decides when a building or area belongs to the World Heritage. There are hundreds of heritages on the World Heritage List: these are all irreplaceable. The World Heritage shows the diversity of nature and culture in the world and therefore contributes to the respect we have for each other. The area or building that has been given the status of World Heritage after a long and thorough procedure, must be managed in the right way, so the status can be maintained.