¼ Gulden – Netherlands Antilles

Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, it is important to clarify that the currency situation in 1954 pertained to the then-existing federated entity. That year marked a pivotal constitutional change with the enactment of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which granted the Netherlands Antilles (comprising Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) internal autonomy as a country within the Kingdom. However, this political shift did not immediately alter the monetary system, which remained firmly under the influence of the Netherlands.

The official currency in 1954 was the Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG), which had been introduced in 1947 to replace the Curaçaoan guilder. It was pegged at a fixed rate to the U.S. dollar, a linkage established in 1971 but with roots in the immediate post-war economic order. This dollar peg was a strategic choice, reflecting the islands' heavy economic dependence on trade, oil refining (particularly at the Shell refinery in Curaçao), and a growing tourism sector largely financed by and catering to the United States. The peg provided crucial stability for import-dependent economies and fostered investor confidence.

Monetary policy and issuance were managed by the Bank of the Netherlands Antilles (Central Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen), established in 1954 itself. While autonomous in day-to-day operations, the bank's policies were closely aligned with Dutch financial oversight as part of the Kingdom's framework. Thus, in 1954, the currency situation was characterized by a stable, dollar-anchored guilder managed by a newly formed central bank, operating within the context of the islands' newly acquired political autonomy but still within the broader economic and monetary orbit of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.