The various islands that made up the Netherlands Antilles prior to 1986 (Aruba, Sint Maarten, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Bonaire, and Curacao) were initially part of the Dutch colony of Curacao andDependencies. After 1954, the islands received semi-autonomous status as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Banknotes were first issued for the colony around 1828, and the CuracaoscheBank would be the sole issuer of paper money throughout most of its history, with the last issue being dated 1960, already after the Netherlands Antilles had been formed. In 1962, the Bank of theNetherlands Antilles, a successor of the Curacaosche Bank, issued its first banknotes. Even though the bank was officially dissolved in 2010 and succeeded by the Central Bank of Curacao and SintMaarten, banknotes in its name are still being issued. It's a little bit of a confusing situation thanks to the complicated political history of the various islands, but the fact is that the current(and probably final) series issued by the Bank of the Netherlands Antilles is a fascinating series to collect, filled with very scarce and underrated dates.

Initially introduced as six denominations (5 gulden, 10 gulden, 25 gulden, 50 gulden, 100 gulden, and 250 gulden), the series was designed by Oscar Ravelo. The original series was dated March 31,1986, but were not shipped to the Antilles until late 1987, and they first entered circulation in January of 1988. Higher denominations were also planned, but to this date have not come to fruition;in fact, the 250-gulden note was issued only in 1986 and even then saw very limited use. The 5-gulden note was also discontinued after 1994 when it was replaced by a coin of the same value.

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The modern bird banknote series of the Netherlands Antilles, 1986 to present