The Eastern Caribbean dollar

The Eastern Caribbean dollar is the current currency in six independent countries and two territories of the United Kingdom, all located in the Caribbean, is divided into 100 cents and its official issuer is the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

Origins and history of the Eastern Caribbean dollar

Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, all of them independent countries, added to Anguilla and Montserrat, territories of the United Kingdom, are the places where, currently, they are located in circulation the East Caribbean Dollar (in English).

This currency replaced the British West Indies dollar in 1965 and is issued by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), based in Saint Kitts and Nevis. This entity replaced the existing one until then, the British Caribbean Currency Board (in English, British Caribbean Currency Board, BCCB), in that same year, 1965.

Between 1935 and 1965, the British West Indies dollar had been the currency used in the British dominions of the Eastern Caribbean (as well as in British Guiana). In 1949, the British government formalized the system of dollars in the accounts of all these territories by introducing this monetary unit at the existing conversion rate of 4.80 dollars per pound sterling. Until 1955, this currency only existed in ticket format.

In 1958, the Federation of the West Indies was established by adopting the British West Indies dollar as the monetary unit, although Jamaica (including the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands), which were part of the Federation of the West Indies, did not They adopted this currency, but chose to continue using the pound.

In 1964 Trinidad and Tobago withdrew from the monetary union (adopting its own currency) and soon this currency would lose its regional support.

In 1965, this monetary unit ceased to be used definitively, giving way to the use of the Eastern Caribbean dollar in the territories that we have previously indicated and in which it continues to be used today.

East Caribbean dollar banknotes and coins

Currently, coins of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 cents and 1 dollar are in circulation. Of all of them, a series of new coins came into circulation in 2002, larger and more rounded than the previous ones. The effigy of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was updated in some denominations and in others appear other reasons, such as Francis Drake's galleon.

Although the 1 and 2 cent coins were withdrawn from circulation in July 2015, they will remain legal until June 30, 2020. All are manufactured by the Royal Mint of the United Kingdom.

As far as the tickets are concerned, the 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollars of the Eastern Caribbean are in circulation. The paper currency is printed by the company De la Rue Currency.

In 2012, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank issued a series of 10, 20, 50 and 100 banknotes with Braille symbols, in order to help blind people in their use. The face of Queen Elizabeth of England appears on all bills.