East Caribbean dollar
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| East Caribbean dollar | |||
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| ISO 4217 Code | XCD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User(s) | Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | ||
| Pegged with | U.S. dollar = XCD 2.7 | ||
| Subunit | |||
| 1/100 | cent | ||
| Symbol | $ | ||
| Coins | 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 cents, 1 dollar | ||
| Banknotes | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 dollars | ||
| Central bank | Eastern Caribbean Central Bank | ||
| Website | www.eccb-centralbank.org | ||
The East Caribbean dollar (currency code XCD) is the currency of eight of the nine members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. It has existed since 1965 and is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $ or, alternatively, EC$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The EC$ is subdivided into 100 cents. It has been pegged to the United States dollar at US$1 = EC$2.7 since 1976. Because of this relatively low exchange rate and the inherent physical similarities, the 25 cent coin has been used by fraudsters in Canada in place of the Canadian quarter[1].
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[edit] States using the EC$
Six of the states using the EC$ are independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The other two are British overseas territories: Anguilla and Montserrat. The only OECS member state not using the Eastern Caribbean dollar is British Virgin Islands, which uses the U.S. dollar.
The combined population is close to 600,000 (2005 and 2006 census and estimates), which is comparable to Montenegro or the city of Washington, D.C..
Queen Elizabeth appears on the banknotes and the obverse of the coins: she is the head of state of all the states and territories using the EC$, except Dominica.
[edit] History
The EC$ replaced the British West Indian dollar (BWI$), used by the defunct West Indies Federation, at par in 1965. Between 1965 and 1983, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority issued the EC$, with banknotes from 1965 and coins from 1981.
In 1972 Barbados left the currency union.
The EC$ is now issued by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, based in the city of Basseterre, in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The bank was established by an agreement (the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement) signed at Port of Spain on July 5, 1983.
[edit] Coins
Until 1981, the coins of the BWI$ circulated. In 1981, a new series of coins was introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 cents and 1 dollar. The round, aluminium bronze dollar coin was replaced in 1989 with a decagonal, cupro-nickel type. Higher denominations exist, but these were issued only as medal-coins.
| 2002 Series [1] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Technical parameters | Description | Date of first minting | ||||
| Diameter | Mass | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | ||
| 1 cent | 18.42 mm | 1.03 g | Aluminium | Plain | Elizabeth II | Value, year of minting, "East Caribbean States" | 2002 |
| 2 cents | 21.46 mm | 1.42 g | |||||
| 5 cents | 23.11 mm | 1.74 g | |||||
| 10 cents | 18.06 mm | 2.59 g | Cupronickel | Ribbed | Value, year of minting, "East Caribbean States", ship | ||
| 25 cents | 23.98 mm | 6.48 g | |||||
| 1 dollar | 26.5 mm | 7.98 g | Alternate smooth and ribbed | ||||
| For table standards, see the coin specification table. | |||||||
[edit] Banknotes
In 1965, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority issued banknotes in denominations of 1, 5, 20 and 100 dollars. The first issues in the name of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in 1985 were of the same denominations, with the addition of 10 dollars notes. The last 1 dollar notes were issued in 1989 and 50 dollar notes were introduced in 1993.
| Use Yahoo! Finance: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| Use XE.com: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| Use OANDA.com: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
Note: Rates obtained from these websites may contradict with pegged rate mentioned above
[edit] See also
- Central banks and currencies of the Caribbean
- Currency Union
- Euro
- Amero
- Khaleeji
- Eco (currency)
- CARICOM
- NAFTA
- EU
- AMU
- EEC
[edit] References
- Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (2003). 2004 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901-Present, Colin R. Bruce II (senior editor), 31st ed., Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-593-4.
- Counterfeit of Canadian currency
[edit] Notes
- ^ Niagara Gazette - POLICE: Crime prevention presentation puts focus on counterfeit currency and other issues
[edit] External links
- Don's World Coin Gallery - Eastern Caribbean
- Ron Wise's World Paper Money - East Caribbean States Mirror site
- The Global History of Currencies - East Caribbean States
- Global Financial Data data series - Eastern Caribbean Dollar
- Global Financial Data currency histories table (
Microsoft Excel format)
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