CURACAO. Curacaosche Bank. 250 Gulden, 1930. P-20. PMG Very Fine 30. A major rarity within the Curacao series and one of the highlights of this collection. At the time of cataloging the PMG population reports shows just two examples of this extremely difficult denomination. The only other piece graded, however, has been cancelled with several "Waardeloos" perforations. As such, the example offered in this auction is the sole fully issued, uncancelled example in the PMG population report. This denomination had a limited print run of 50,000 pieces which satisfied demand for almost a quarter of a century, as this denomination was not issued again until 1954. It had considerable buying power at the time of issue and it is unlikely that many people would ever see this denomination in everyday circulation. Its central motive shows Saba, one of the islands of the Dutch West Indies (and known today for having the airport with the shortest commercial runway in the world). Obviously circulated yet problem-free and an opportunity not to be missed.<p><p>Records show that on December 31, 1960 a massive 6,949 notes of this denomination remained outstanding. As stated by Van Elmpt in his standard reference work on the series this number is unrealistic. Perhaps many were never actually issued and later destroyed or perhaps an accounting error led to this high number. Regardless, this is not a denomination that is encountered with any frequency, and even some of the best collections assembled were missing this type.<p> From the Landhuis Collection.
