The
dollar
Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...
has been the currency of
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
since 1935. Globally its currency has the
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...
code ''BBD'', however, unofficially in Barbados the
International vehicle registration code
The country in which a motor vehicle's vehicle registration plate was issued may be indicated by an international licence plate country code, formerly known as an International Registration Letter or International Circulation Mark. It is ref ...
code BDS is also commonly used, a currency code that is otherwise reserved for
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
(
ISO 3166-1
ISO 3166-1 (''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 1: Country codes'') is a standard defining codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. It ...
country code ''BD'') outside Barbados. As such the present dollar has the
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...
code ''BBD''. The Barbadian dollar is divided into 100
cent
Cent may refer to:
Currency
* Cent (currency), a one-hundredth subdivision of several units of currency
* Penny (Canadian coin), a Canadian coin removed from circulation in 2013
* 1 cent (Dutch coin), a Dutch coin minted between 1941 and 1944
* ...
s.
History
The history of currency in the former British colony of Barbados closely follows that of British
Eastern Caribbean
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ri ...
territories in general. Even though Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704 introduced the
pound sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
currency system to the West Indies, silver
pieces of eight
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
(
Spanish dollars
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
and later
Mexican dollar
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
s) continued to form a major portion of the circulating currency right into the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Britain adopted the
gold standard
A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...
in 1821 and an imperial order-in-council of 1838 resulted in Barbados formally adopting the British
sterling coinage in the year 1848. However, despite the circulation of British coins in Barbados the silver pieces of eight continued to circulate alongside them and the private sector continued to use dollar accounts for reckoning. The international silver crisis of 1873 signalled the end of the silver dollar era in the West Indies and silver dollars were demonetized in Barbados in 1879. This left a state of affairs, in which the British coinage circulated, being reckoned in dollar accounts at an automatic conversion rate of 1 dollar = 4
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
s 2 pence. The first currency denominated in dollars to be issued in Barbados was in the form of private banknotes introduced in 1882. No subdivisions of the dollar were issued and these notes circulated alongside
sterling, together with 1 pound notes issued by the government in 1917. From 1920, some of the private banknotes also carried a denomination in sterling, with 1 dollar = 4 shillings 2
pence
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
.
From 1949, with the introduction of the
British West Indies dollar, the currency of Barbados became officially tied with those of the British
Eastern Caribbean
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ri ...
territories in general. Between 1938 and 1949, the Barbadian government issued paper money denominated in dollars. The last private bank issues were made in 1949. The British sterling coinage was eventually replaced by a new decimal coinage in 1955, with the new cent being equal to one half of the old penny. In 1965, the
Eastern Caribbean dollar
The Eastern Caribbean dollar (symbol: EC$; code: XCD) is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The successor to the British West Indies dollar, it has existed sinc ...
replaced the British West Indies dollar in Barbados.
The present dollar was created after the establishment of the
Central Bank of Barbados (CBB), which was founded by an Act of
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in May, 1972. The Barbados dollar replaced the East Caribbean dollar at par in 1973. Since 5 July 1975, the Barbados dollar has been
pegged to the US dollar. It is presently fixed at an exchange rate of US$1 = BDS$1.98. However, some businesses accept US dollars at an exchange rate of US$1 = BDS$2.
For a wider outline of the history of currency in the region, see
Currencies of the British West Indies
The region known as the British West Indies included British Guiana on the South American mainland, British Honduras in Central America, Bermuda, The Bahamas, and Jamaica, along with its former dependencies of the Cayman Islands and the Turks and C ...
.
Coins
In 1973, the first year of Barbados having its own coinage, coins were introduced in denominations of 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, and . From 1973 through 1991, the 1¢ was struck in bronze. From 1992, copper-plated
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
has been used. The 5¢ coin is struck in
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
, whilst the highest 3 denominations are struck in
cupronickel
Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...
. The coin is a 7-sided
equilaterally-curved piece. A
flying fish
The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird do ...
is adorned on one side, with the Barbadian coat of arms on the reverse. The Barbadian dollar coins are now minted in a plated-steel planchet first issued in 2007. Many of the coins in circulation have been struck at the
Royal Canadian Mint
}) is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the Mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada.
The Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures ...
.
The reverse of the 5 cent coin depicts the
South Point Lighthouse
South Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the south of Barbados. Its height is .
History
It is the oldest lighthouse in Barbados. It was brought to Barbados in 1852, one year after being shown at London's Great Exhibition, and reassemble ...
, the oldest lighthouse in Barbados.
Banknotes
In 1882, the Colonial Bank introduced notes for 5 dollars. In 1920, 20 and 100 dollar notes were also issued by this bank. In 1922,
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
, having taken over the Colonial Bank, began issuing 5, 20 and 100 dollar notes. The higher denominations ceased production in 1940 but the 5 dollar continued to be issued until 1949.
The
Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
introduced notes in 1909, in denominations of 5, 20 and 100 dollars. From 1920, these notes also bore the denomination in sterling, with 5 dollars = 1 pound 10 pence, 20 dollars = 4 pounds 3 shillings 4 pence and 100 dollars = 20 pounds 16 shillings 8 pence. Notes were issued until 1938. The
Canadian Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank which was founded in 1867, and had hundreds of branches throughout Canada. It merged in 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
History
In 1866 a ...
issued notes between 1922 and 1940, also in denominations of 5, 20 and 100 dollars.
Between 1938 and 1949, the government issued notes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 20 and 100 dollars. All bore the portrait of
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
.
On 3 December 1973, the Central Bank of Barbados introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 100 dollars. 2 dollar notes were introduced in 1980, followed by 50 dollars in 1989. The 1 dollar note was no longer issued after 1988.
Banknotes currently in circulation are:
*2 dollars (blue)
*5 dollars (green)
*10 dollars (brown)
*20 dollars (purple)
*50 dollars (orange)
*100 dollars (grey)
The defunct 1 Dollar note was red in colour and had
Samuel Jackman Prescod
Samuel Jackman Prescod (1806 – 26 September 1871) became the first person of African descent to be elected to the Parliament of Barbados, in 1843. He also helped found the Liberal Party, whose following included small landowners, businessme ...
on the obverse.
On 2 May 2013, the Central Bank of Barbados issued a new series of banknotes with a more modern design. The portraits on all of the denominations have been retained, but on the back of the notes is a design specific to the person depicted on the front of the notes.
On the 21 March 2022, the Central Bank of Barbados announced its intent to replace the current paper banknotes with
polymer banknote
Polymer banknotes are banknotes made from a synthetic polymer such as biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP). Such notes incorporate many security features not available in paper banknotes, including the use of metameric inks. Polymer banknote ...
s by the end of the year stating it would allow for more secure and durable cash. The new designs of the polymer banknotes were then later revealed on 4 May 2022 and it was announced that the notes would be rolled out 5 December 2022.
See also
*
List of people on banknotes#Barbados
*
Currencies of the British West Indies
The region known as the British West Indies included British Guiana on the South American mainland, British Honduras in Central America, Bermuda, The Bahamas, and Jamaica, along with its former dependencies of the Cayman Islands and the Turks and C ...
*
Central banks and currencies of the Caribbean This is a list of the central banks and currencies of the Caribbean.
There are a number of currencies serving multiple territories; the most widespread are the East Caribbean dollar (8 countries and territories), the United States dollar (5) and th ...
*
Economy of Barbados
Since the island country's independence in 1966, the economy of Barbados has been transformed from a low-income economy dependent upon sugar production into a high-income economy based on tourism and the offshore sector. Barbados went into a dee ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
www.giervalk.bravepages.com Images of Barbadian banknotes
{{Portal bar, Caribbean, Money, Numismatics
Currencies of Barbados
Fixed exchange rate
Currencies introduced in 1935
Currencies introduced in 1973
Currencies of the British Empire
Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations