Owner Comments:
Curaçao/Suriname - 1943P (Palm Privy) - 25 Cents - KM #38 - Total Mintage: 2,500,000
Curaçao mintage: 500,000
Suriname mintage: 2,000,000
Obverse: Head of Queen of the Netherlands Wilhelmina I facing left
Obverse Legend: WILHELMINA KONINGIN DER NEDERLANDEN (Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands)
Reverse: Denomination and date within wreath
Reverse Legend: none
Edge: Reeded
Minted by the Philadelphia Mint during World War II for circulation in the Dutch colonies of Curaçao and Suriname. This coin contains two "mint marks." The first is the right tilted "P" to the right of the date on the reverse indicating that it was minted by the Philadelphia Mint. The second is the left tilted tilted Palm Tree "privy" mark to the left of the date. These exact coins were also minted by the Philadelphia Mint for the Netherlands proper, also with the "P" mint mark, but with an Acorn privy mark to the left of the date in place of the Palm Tree found on this coin. The privy mark is the only way to tell the two coins apart.
The portrait of Queen Wilhelmina used on the Dutch coinage changed as the Queen aged. At the time these coins were struck, the Queen was 63 years old and was living in exile in England. The third style of her left facing portrait which dominates the obverse of this coin, was first used in 1921 when she was just 41 years old.
There is a moderately rare variety of this issue which appears to be an overdate variety in which a faint vertical line appears in the lower loop of the three in the date. It is referred to by Krause as 1943/1P. There has been some debate as to whether this is an actual overdate or just a die crack in a strategic location. Time will tell, but it will likely remain a collectible variety either way.
Date acquired: 3/28/2006 (raw coin)
Date graded: 9/23/2015 (self submitted to NGC)
Rev. 12/5/2018