Aruba Numismatic Museum

Address: Weststraat, Oranjestad
Hours: Monday-Saturday
Admission: US$5

ATTRACTION Keywords:
Viator Top Pick, Museum

4:18 PM Saturday, May 25
Scattered clouds. Hot.
7 day forecast

The Numismatic Museum of Aruba holds over 35,000 coins and paper money from 400 countries. Here you can see currency from places and times as far and away as the Roman Empire, Chinese dynasties, and feudal European countries, and read the stories that explain how and why people used such materials as wood, leather and porcelain as money.

Upon entering the charming yellow stucco building, you'll have the chance to wander at your own pace through the well-organized displays or have an expert numismatist guide you through the museum. Make sure to spend some time at the display featuring Aruba's 19th century unorthodox currency. As the placard states, at this time there was a money shortage, which forced the governor to cut up Spanish reales into slivers. These scraps were used as currency in Aruba for almost a century!

If you are at all interested in history, or at least money (which we all are), this is a stop worth making. There are few other places in the world, if any, that allow you view such a unique and expansive collection of currency.

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What is most remarkable about this museum is that it is mostly comprised of the collection of a local man, Juan Mario Odor. His passion for numismatics began in 1955 when he found 2 rare coins in his yard and from then on he began a lifetime of collecting coins. Those first coins he found are on display here along with tens of thousands of others, dating from as far back as 400 B.C.

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