The pound was the currency of the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

until 1966. It was equivalent to 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 ...

and was divided into 20 ''

shillings 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 or ...

'', each of 12 ''

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 ...

''. Standard sterling coinage circulated. Apart from a Bahamas penny coin struck in 1806, there were no special coin issues such as were found in Jamaica.

History

In 1825, an imperial

Order-in-Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

was passed for the purposes of introducing sterling coinage into all the British colonies. It wasn't immediately very effective due to unrealistic ratings, and it required a further Order-in-Council to be passed in 1838. By the middle of the nineteenth century, Sterling coinage had replaced the

Spanish 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 ...

throughout all 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, Grena ...

. But it was only in the Bahamas,

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

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

that the pound unit of account was used. In the Eastern Caribbean territories and in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

, the dollar unit of account was retained in conjunction with the British coinage at a fixed rate of one dollar to four shillings and two pence. Unlike in Bermuda, the

US 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 ...

circulated freely alongside sterling coinage in the Bahamas. The pound was replaced by 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 ...

in 1966, at a rate of 7/– = $1 (£1 = $2.86). This rate meant that the new Bahamas dollar was at a slight discount to the US dollar. 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

The only coin issued was a 1 penny coin struck in 1806. British coins circulated on the islands until 1966.

Banknotes

The Bank of Nassau initially issued notes in denominations of 5/–, 10/–, and £1. 4/– notes were introduced in 1906. The bank failed in 1917, and the Bahamas government took over the issuance of banknotes on the islands. The Public Treasury issued £1 notes in 1868, followed by government notes in 1869 for £1 and £5. In 1919, a new series of 4/–, 10/–, and £1 notes was introduced, with £5 notes reintroduced after 1936.

References

External links

{{Pound (currency) Currencies of the Bahamas Currencies of the British Empire Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Economy of the Bahamas Modern obsolete currencies 1966 disestablishments