Cayman Islands dollar

Cayman Islands dollar
ISO 4217 code	KYD
Central bank	Cayman Islands Monetary Authority
Website	www.cimoney.com.ky
User(s)	Cayman Islands (UK)
Inflation	-0.1%
Source	, march 2009
Pegged with	United States Dollar, 1 KYD = 1.2 USD
Subunit
1/100	cent
Symbol	$
Coins	1, 5, 10, 25 cents
Banknotes	1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 dollars

The Cayman Islands Dollar (currency code KYD) is the currency of the Cayman Islands. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively CI$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents. It is the 9th-highest-valued currency unit in the world and the highest-valued dollar unit.^{[citation needed]}

History

The Cayman Islands dollar was introduced in 1972, replacing the Jamaican dollar at par. Jamaican currency and Cayman Islands then remained both legal tender until 1 August 1972^[1] when Jamaican currency ceased to be legal tender. The Cayman Islands dollar has been pegged to the United States dollar at 1 Cayman Islands dollar = 1.2 U.S. dollars since 1 April 1974.^[2]

Coins

In 1972, coins in denominations of 1¢, 5¢, 10¢ and 25¢ were introduced. The 1¢ was struck in bronze, with the other denominations in cupronickel. From 1992, copper and nickel-plated steel replaced bronze and cupronickel, respectively.

Banknotes

On 1 May 1972,^[3] the Cayman Islands Currency Board introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 25 dollars. 40 dollar notes were introduced in 1981 but were taken out of circulation a few years later, followed by 100 dollars in 1982 and 50 dollars in 1987. On 1 January 1997, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) took over issuance of paper money, issuing notes for 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 dollars. The current series of notes was issued on 4 April 2011.^[4]

Exchange rate

On the islands, the US dollar is accepted as legal currency at the rate of US$1.00 equal to KY$0.80 (i.e. US$1.25 = KY$1.00). Change is usually given in Cayman Island dollars.^[5]

Half pounds

The Cayman Islands dollar is an off-shoot of the Jamaican dollar which is essentially a half pound sterling. Jamaica followed the pattern of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand in that when it adopted the decimal system, it decided to use the half-pound unit as opposed to the pound unit of account. The choice of the name "dollar" was motivated^{[citation needed]} by the fact that the reduced value of the new unit corresponded more closely to the value of the US dollar than it did to the pound sterling.

See also

• Cayman Islands Monetary Authority
• Central banks and currencies of the Caribbean
• Economy of the Cayman Islands

References

External links

• Cayman Islands Monetary Authority