NEW EAST CARIBBEAN BANKNOTES EXCHANGE QUEEN ELIZABETH FOR LOCAL NATIONAL HEROES

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has issued a series of redesigned banknotes replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II with selected national heroes from member states where the Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC/XCD) is the official currency.

In announcing the new designs, the ECCB said the objective was to honour the people, heritage and achievements of the eight member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Announcing that the banknotes no longer feature the likeness of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy N.J. Antoine stated: “Recognising that the currency belongs to the people of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, the Monetary Council invited the public, through the Central Bank, to help shape this new chapter in our shared history. The response was clear and compelling.  The people called for our currency to honour our own heroes, nation builders, and persons whose lives and achievements have enriched our countries and strengthened our region.”

The $100 banknote, the largest denomination of the currency, features Sir Arthur Lewis (Nobel Prize for Economics, 1979), and former Prime Minister Sir John Compton, both of St. Lucia.

Appearing on the $50 banknote are former Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Sir Dwight Venner of St. Lucia, and Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, the first Prime Minister of St Kitts & Nevis.

Antigua and Barbuda’s first Prime Minister, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird and his Dominica counterpart, Dame Eugenia Charles, are honoured on the $20 note, with the first Chief Ministers of Anguilla and Montserrat, respectively - Ronald Webster and William H. Bramble - recognised on the $10 bill.

The $5 banknote features former St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Milton Cato, who led that country into independence, along with Grenada’s national hero athlete Sir Kirani James.

Other changes include, for the first time, the ECCB logo encircled by the flags of the ECCU , with the likeness of Sir Dwight Venner now appearing on the front of the $50 banknote instead of the back, while the image of Sir Arthur Lewis was moved from the back of the $100 banknote to the front.

The redesign for EC coins replaces the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II on the front with the ECCU logo.

Some observers have pointed to the retention of the depiction of the Golden Hind vessel of British explorer Sir Francis Drake on the reverse of the 1 dollar, 25-cent, and 10-cent coins, citing his association with the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) established in 1983, is the Monetary Authority for Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

It is the central bank and monetary regulatory authority for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States(OECS). Its related organs are the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and the Monetary Council. The EC/XCD dollar is the official currency used by its seven full members, which include the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat, and one associate member, Anguilla, another UK OT. It has an exchange rate of $1 EC/XCD to US 30 cents or US1.00 to EC/XCD $2.70