Newfoundland dollar

Last updated
Newfoundland dollar
NFLD dollar bill.jpg
$1
Unit
Symbol $ or NF$
Denominations
Subunit
1100 cent
Symbol
cent ¢
Banknotes
  • 25¢
  • 40¢
  • 50¢
  • 80¢
  • $1
  • $2
  • $5
  • $10
  • $20
  • $50
Coins
Demographics
Replaced Newfoundland pound
Replaced by Canadian dollar
User(s)Dominion of Newfoundland Red Ensign.svg  Newfoundland
Issuance
Central bank Department of Finance and Customs
Valuation
Pegged with Canadian dollar at par
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

The dollar was the currency of the colony of Newfoundland and, later, the Dominion of Newfoundland, from 1865 until 1949, when Newfoundland became a province of Canada. It was subdivided into 100 cents.

Contents

History

In 1865, Newfoundland adopted the gold standard, and the dollar replaced the pound at a rate of 1 dollar = 4 shillings 2 pence sterling or 1 pound = $4.80, slightly higher than the Canadian dollar (worth 4s 1.3d). The significance of this rating was that two cents was equal to one penny sterling. It was seen as a compromise between adopting the British system or the American system. It also had the effect of aligning the Newfoundland unit to the dollar unit in the British Eastern Caribbean colonies. The West Indian dollar was directly descended from the Spanish dollar (pieces of eight). Newfoundland was unique in the British Empire in that it was the only part to introduce its own gold coin in conjunction with its gold standard. Newfoundland two-dollar coins were minted intermittently until the Newfoundland banking crash of 1894. In 1895, following this banking crisis, the Canadian banks moved into Newfoundland and the value of the Newfoundland dollar was adjusted to set it equal to the Canadian dollar, a devaluation of 1.4%. The Newfoundland dollar was replaced by the Canadian dollar at par when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. [1]

The other British North American colonies adopted the American unit around the same time that Newfoundland adopted the West Indian unit. The small disparity between the American unit and the West Indian unit was because in 1792, Alexander Hamilton at the U.S. Treasury Department took an average weight of worn Spanish dollars to be the new American unit of currency.[ citation needed ]

The Newfoundland decimal coinage corresponded exactly to the dollar unit that was used in another British colony in South America. British Guiana used accounts based on the Spanish dollar, but these accounts were used in conjunction with the sterling coinage.

Coins of the Newfoundland dollar continue to be legal tender in all of Canada, [2] as are banknotes.[ citation needed ]

Coins

In 1865, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 20 cents, and 2 dollars. The 1 cent was struck in bronze, the 5, 10 and 20 cents in silver and the 2 dollars (also denominated as "Two Hundred Cents" and "One Hundred Pence") in gold. Silver 50 cents were introduced in 1870, with the 20 cents replaced by a 25-cent coin in 1917. A smaller 1-cent coin was introduced in 1938.

Banknotes

Union Bank $2 note NFLD 2 dollar bill.jpg
Union Bank $2 note

In 1865, one chartered bank, the Commercial Bank of Newfoundland, began issuing notes denominated in pounds and dollars, using a rate of 4 dollars = 1 pound. As this rate matched the rate used in Canada at the time, it may be that these notes were not intended for use as Newfoundland dollars. In the 1880s, both the Commercial Bank and the Union Bank of Newfoundland issued notes denominated solely in dollars. Denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 dollars were issued. However, in 1894, both banks crashed.

Treasury $2 note NFLD 2 dollar.png
Treasury $2 note

The Department of Public Works introduced government cash notes in 1901 in denominations of 40, 50 and 80 cents, 1 and 5 dollars. In 1910, 25 cents and 2 dollars were added. In 1920, the Treasury introduced 1- and 2-dollar notes.

Gold standard

The Newfoundland dollar was linked to the Canadian dollar and remained convertible to gold even after Canada went off the gold standard in April 1931. As a result of going off the gold standard and the economic situation of the Depression, the Canadian dollar slipped against the American dollar. That opened up the opportunity for a one-way arbitrage market with the United States. It became profitable to convert Canadian dollars for gold in Newfoundland and then take the gold to the United States to sell for a profit. This brought economic pressure on Newfoundland as its gold reserves started to diminish. [3]

In December 1931, the Newfoundland government took Newfoundland off the gold standard. [3] This was followed by legislation in the spring of 1932, which amended the Currency Act to prohibit the export of gold without a permit. Banknotes became legal tender, and notes were no longer convertible into gold. Newfoundland thus abandoned the gold standard a year after Canada. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian dollar</span> Currency of Canada

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used for distinction from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents (¢).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belize dollar</span> Official currency of Belize

The Belize dollar is the official currency in Belize. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively BZ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.

The British West Indies dollar (BWI$) was the currency of British Guiana and the Eastern Caribbean territories of the British West Indies from 1949 to 1965, when it was largely replaced by the East Caribbean dollar, and was one of the currencies used in Jamaica from 1954 to 1964. The monetary policy of the currency was overseen by the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB). It was the official currency used by the West Indies Federation The British West Indies dollar was never used in British Honduras, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, or Bermuda.

The leone is the currency of Sierra Leone. It is subdivided into 100 cents. As of 1 July 2022, the ISO 4217 code is SLE due to a redenomination of the old leone (SLL) at a rate of SLL 1000 to SLE 1. The leone is abbreviated as Le placed before the amount.

The pound is the currency of Guernsey. Since 1921, Guernsey has been in currency union with the United Kingdom and the Guernsey pound is not a separate currency but is a local issue of sterling banknotes and coins, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. It can be exchanged at par with other sterling coinage and notes.

The Cayman Islands Dollar 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fijian dollar</span> Currency of Fiji

The Fijian dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad and Tobago dollar</span> Currency of Trinidad and Tobago

The Trinidad and Tobago dollar is the currency of Trinidad and Tobago. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively TT$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents. Cents are abbreviated with the cent sign ¢, or TT¢ to distinguish from other currencies that use cents. Its predecessor currencies are the Trinidadian dollar and the Tobagonian dollar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guyanese dollar</span> Currency used in Guyana

The Guyanese dollar has been the unit of account in Guyana since 29 January 1839. Originally it was intended as a transitional unit to facilitate the changeover from the Dutch guilder system of currency to the British pound sterling system. The Spanish dollar was already prevalent throughout the West Indies in general, and from 1839, the Spanish dollar unit operated in British Guiana in conjunction with British sterling coins at a standard conversion rate of one dollar for every four shillings and twopence. In 1951 the British sterling coinage was replaced with a new decimal coinage which was simultaneously introduced through all the British territories in the Eastern Caribbean. When sterling began to depreciate in the early 1970s, a switch to a US dollar peg became increasingly attractive as an anti-inflationary measure and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority made the switch in October 1975. The Guyanese dollar is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively G$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbadian dollar</span> Currency of Barbados

The dollar has been the currency of Barbados since 1935. Globally its currency has the ISO 4217 code BBD, however, unofficially in Barbados the International vehicle registration code BDS is also commonly used, a currency code that is otherwise reserved for Bangladesh outside Barbados. As such the present Barbados dollar has the official ISO 4217 code of BB which matches the [dot] .bb Cc-TLD domain names classification for Barbados under ISO 3166, plus D for dollar in the foreign exchange market. The Barbadian dollar is considered as a currency which can be divided into 100 cents, though the 1 cent coin is in the process of being phased out.

The yuan is the base unit of a number of former and present-day currencies in Chinese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodesian dollar</span> National currency of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1970-80

The Rhodesian dollar was the currency of Rhodesia between 1970 and 1980. It was subdivided into 100 cents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danish West Indian daler</span> Currency of the Danish West Indies (1849–1917)

The daler was the currency of the Danish West Indies between 1849 and 1917, and of the United States Virgin Islands between 1917 and 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian pound</span> Currency used in Canada (1841–1858)

The pound was the currency of the Canadas until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d). In Lower Canada, the sou was used, worth 12 penny. Although the £sd accounting system had its origins in sterling, the Canadian pound was never at par with sterling's pound.

The history of currency in the British colony of Dominica closely follows that of the British Eastern Caribbean territories in general. Even though Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704 brought the gold standard to the West Indies, silver pieces of eight continued to form a major portion of the circulating currency right into the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The history of currency in the British colony of Grenada closely follows that of the British Eastern Caribbean territories in general. Even though Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704 brought the gold standard to the West Indies, silver pieces of eight continued to form a major portion of the circulating currency right into the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The history of currency in the British colony of St. Kitts closely follows that of the British Eastern Caribbean territories in general. Even though Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704 brought the gold standard to the West Indies, silver pieces of eight continued to form a major portion of the circulating currency right into the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The history of currency in the British colony of Saint Lucia closely follows that of the British Eastern Caribbean territories in general. Even though Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704 brought the gold standard to the West Indies, silver pieces of eight continued to form a major portion of the circulating currency right into the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The pound was the currency of Newfoundland until 1865. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The Newfoundland pound was equal to sterling and sterling coin circulated, supplemented by locally produced tokens and banknotes. In 1865, the dollar was introduced at a rate of 1 dollar = 4s.2d., or 1 dollar = 50d.

The dollar was the currency of British Columbia between 1865 and 1871. It replaced the British pound at a rate of 1 pound per 4.866 dollars and was equivalent to the Canadian dollar, which replaced it. The dollar was subdivided into 100 cents. No distinct coins were issued, with Canadian coins circulating.

References

  1. Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, Volume C, Currency, p. 577. Centre for Newfoundland Studies Digital Archive, Memorial University. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  2. Currency Act, RSC 1985, c. C-52, s. 7(1)(b).
  3. 1 2 James Hiller and Michael Harrington (eds.), The Newfoundland National Convention, 1946-1948: Reports and papers, p.377.
  4. An Act to make Provision for controlling the Export of Gold and for controlling the Currency, Statutes of Newfoundland 1932, c. 1.

Further reading

  • Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN   0873411501.
  • Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN   0-87341-207-9.
  • Pick, Albert (1990). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Specialized Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (6th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN   0-87341-149-8.