The EC Currency Turns 50 on 6 October 2015
Celebrating the Journey
The history of the EC Currency and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB)
embodies the story of the coming of age of the eight ECCB member countries. Together,
the EC Currency and the ECCB have contributed to the growth, prosperity and self-
determination of the people of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Let us
therefore take a journey into the currency’s history.
Bank Notes were issued in the early 1900s by British and Canadian Banks. The Royal Bank of Canada
(RBC) acquired its first branch in the British Caribbean in 1910 in Port of Spain, Trinidad after opening
a branch in London. RBC soon spread throughout the British territories and was established in
St Kitts and Nevis in 1915.
In the 1940s
,
bank notes issued by British and Canadian banks circulated freely throughout the British
territories
.
The British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB) was established in 1950 and had the sole right to issue
currency in Barbados, British Guiana, the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands and Trinidad and
Tobago. The first British Caribbean currency notes were issued on 1 August 1951 and British Caribbean
coins on 15 November 1955.
British and Canadian Banks
Early 1900s – 1940s
Bank note from the Royal Bank of Canada
dated 3 January 1938
Bank note from Barclays Bank (Dominion,
Colonial and Overseas) formerly the Colonial
Bank dated 1 May 1937
British Caribbean Currency Board
The 1950s
British Caribbean Currency Notes
