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The Belize dollar is the official currency in
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
(
currency code 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 c ...
''BZD''). It is normally abbreviated with the
dollar sign The dollar sign, also known as peso sign, is a symbol consisting of a capital " S" crossed with one or two vertical strokes ($ or ), used to indicate the unit of various currencies around the world, including most currencies denominated "pe ...
''$'', or alternatively ''BZ$'' to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It 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. The official value is pegged at BZ$2 = .


History

The first dollars to circulate in
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
were Spanish dollars, some of which were counterstamped with the monogram of a crowned –G-R– ( la, Georgius Rex; " King George") They circulated between 1765 and 1825 at a value of 6
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...
s 8 pence. i.e. one third of a pound sterling. In 1825, an imperial order-in-council was passed for the purpose of introducing the British sterling coinage into all the British colonies. This order-in-council made sterling coinage legal tender; it set the exchange rate between sterling and the Spanish dollar at = 4s 4d. This exchange rate was supposed to be based on the value of the silver in the Spanish dollars as compared to the value of the gold in the British sovereigns. The realistic exchange rate would have been = £1 (equivalent to = 4s 2d), and so the unrealistic exchange rate that was contained in the 1825 order-in-council led to the initiative being largely a failure. Remedial legislation came about in 1838 with a new order-in-council, which did not apply to the British North American colonies due to minor rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada. The 1838 legislation introduced the correct rating of = 4s 2d. When the original order-in-council of 1825 was introduced in Jamaica,
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...
, and
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
, the local authorities set aside the mistaken rating of = 4s 4d, and they unofficially used the alternative rating of = 4s.
The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...
would later adopt this same approach. When the 1838 remedial legislation came into force, sterling was well established in these territories, the Spanish dollar had been barred from circulation, and the authorities had no desire to adopt the devaluation that would have been associated with the correct rating of = 4s 2d. The British shilling, referred to locally as a 'Maccaroni', was equal to one quarter of a dollar, and the system was working very satisfactorily. For a period in the middle of the nineteenth century
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
operated the British sterling monetary system just like Jamaica and
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...
. In the wake of the international silver crisis of 1873 the silver
peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named " doll ...
of neighbouring Guatemala drove the British currency out of circulation. In an attempt to return
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
to the gold standard, and influenced by the fact that most imports were coming from New Orleans in the United States, a new currency was introduced into
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
based on the US dollar, bringing
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
into line with Canada. At that time, the
Canadian dollar The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style g ...
was on the gold standard, and one
Canadian dollar The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style g ...
was equal to one
American dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
. This is the point where the currency history of
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
diverges from that of the rest of the
British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada ...
. In 1885, 1 cent coins were issued, followed by higher denominations in 1894. This year also saw the first issue of banknotes by the government and a switch from the silver Guatemalan peso to the gold
U.S. dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
as the base for the currency, with = 1 pound. The rate of as opposed to is explained by the fact that when the US dollar was first created in 1792, it was based on the average weight of a selection of worn Spanish dollars. Hence, the US dollar was at a slight discount in relation to the Spanish dollar. Following the introduction of the US dollar gold standard to
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
, the 25 cent coins were referred to as shillings due to their closeness in value to shilling sterling. When the United Kingdom abandoned the gold standard in 1931 the
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
dollar continued with its attachment to the US dollar and as such it did not become part of the
sterling bloc The sterling area (or sterling bloc, legally scheduled territories) was a group of countries that either pegged their currencies to sterling, or actually used sterling as their own currency. The area began to appear informally during the ear ...
. At the outbreak of the second world war, unlike in the case of Canada, Newfoundland, and Hong Kong,
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
did join the sterling area even though it maintained its fixed exchange rate with respect to the US dollar. The
sterling bloc The sterling area (or sterling bloc, legally scheduled territories) was a group of countries that either pegged their currencies to sterling, or actually used sterling as their own currency. The area began to appear informally during the ear ...
should not be confused with the sterling area. The former was a group of countries who pegged their local currencies to sterling when the United Kingdom abandoned the gold standard in 1931, whereas the latter was an exchange control arrangement introduced as an emergency measure at the outbreak of the second world war. In 1949 the
British pound 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 ...
was devalued from to . Since the
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
dollar was pegged to the US dollar, this caused a sudden increase in the value of the British Honduran dollar relative to the pound. Protests ensued which led to a devaluation of the British Honduran dollar to a value of 70 U.S. cents (equal to 5 shillings sterling). Following Harold Wilson's devaluation of sterling in November 1967, the British Honduran dollar again devalued in sympathy with the British pound to 60 US cents. In 1978, the link to the British pound of BZ$4 = £1 was abandoned and once again the
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
unit was pegged to the US dollar at a fixed rate of BZ$2 = . This new rate which still continues today, reflects the devaluation of 50% in relation to the original parity with the US dollar in 1885, which last applied in 1949.


Coins

In 1885, bronze 1 cent coins were introduced, followed by silver 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents in 1894. These coins were minted at the Royal Mint and their style was similar to that of other British colonial dollar fractional coinage used in Hong Kong and Canada.
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 ...
replaced silver in the 5 cents in 1907. This was itself replaced by nickel-brass in 1942. In 1952, cupro-nickel replaced silver in the 25 cent coins, with the same happening for the 50 and 10 cents in 1954 and 1956, respectively. Following a reduction in size in 1954, the 1 cent coin switched to a scalloped shape in 1956. In 1976, aluminium 1 and 5 cent coins were introduced. A nickel-brass, decagonal 1 dollar coin was introduced in 1990.


Banknotes

The Board of Commissioners of Currency operated from 1894 to 1976. In 1894, the government introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100 dollars. Production of 50 and 100 dollars ceased after 1928. 20 dollar notes were introduced in 1952. British Honduras was officially renamed Belize in 1973, and the following year a new family of notes was introduced with the new country name. On November 1, 1976, the Monetary Authority of Belize was established, and took over note issuance. The first and only notes issued under its name were dated 1ST JUNE 1980, and included a 100-dollar note for the first time. The
Central Bank of Belize The Central Bank of Belize is the central bank of Belize, established in 1982. In 2021 Gustavo Manuel Vasquez was chosen to serve as Governor, replacing Joy Grant, A. Joy Grant, who had served in the role since 2016.jabiru stork and the commemorative text "30th anniversary Central Bank of Belize". On the back of the commemorative note is the headquarters of the Central Bank of Belize in Belize City.The commemorative banknote
Central Bank of Belize. (www.centralbank.org.bz). Retrieved on 2012-11-09.
The late Queen Elizabeth II appears in all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Belize.


Exchange rate


See also

*
Economy of Belize The economy of Belize is a small, essentially private enterprise economy that is based primarily on agriculture, tourism, and services. The cultivation of newly discovered oil in the town of Spanish Lookout has presented new prospects and problems ...
*
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 ...


References


External links


Central Bank of Belize


{{Portal bar, Belize, Central America, Money, Numismatics Economy of Belize Fixed exchange rate Currencies of Central America Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations