CPS Resource CentreA final declaration agreement between the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands went into force on October 10, 2010, completing the process of constitutional reform in the Antilles. Curaçao and St Maarten have become autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba will become special municipalities of the Netherlands. The change in autonomy has also been documented in the October 25th, 2010 edition of Linn’s Stamp News, page 2.
Netherlands Antillies : Curaçao, Saint Maarten 2010-10-10
Mark Honig, the Society’s Vice President, who hails from the Netherlands, has sent these images of new stamps issued to mark the new autonomy. Three stamps were issued on October 10,2010, in denominations of 111c and 164c. All three stamps depict maps. The map of Curaçao shows the urban areas of the island in yellow. The map of St. Maarten shows both the French (north) and Dutch (south) zones of the island. Both capitals are shown in red. The final stamp shows the remaining non-autonomous Netherlands Antilles, after the declaration. On January 1, 2011, Curaçao and St. Maarten will begin to use a new currency, probably on a 1 to 1 parity with the present Netherlands Antilles Guilder. We can assume these stamps will change at that time, as these denominations will be incorrect. The small Caribbean Netherlands islands of Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius will use the US dollar from Jan 1, 2011. [thanks to Mark for the heads-up and fact checking! — web admin]
