Saint Vincent dollar

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The history of currency in the British colony of Saint Vincent closely follows that of the British Eastern Caribbean territories in general. As such, it should not be considered in isolation. In order to get a broad overview of currency in the region, see the article British West Indies dollar.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Country in the Caribbean

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an Anglo-Caribbean country in the Lesser Antilles island arc, in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lies in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean. The sovereign state is also frequently known simply as Saint Vincent.

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). The British West Indies dollar was never used in British Honduras, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, or Bermuda.

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Even though Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704 brought the gold standard to the West Indies, silver pieces of eight (Spanish dollars and later Mexican dollars) continued to form a major portion of the circulating currency right into the latter half of the nineteenth century. Britain adopted the gold standard in 1821 and an imperial order-in-council of 1838 resulted in British sterling coinage being introduced to St. Vincent in the year 1839. However, despite the circulation of British coins in St. Vincent, the silver pieces of eight continued to circulate alongside them and the private sector continued to use dollar accounts for reckoning. The international silver crisis of 1873 signalled the end of the silver dollar era in the West Indies and silver dollars were demonetized in St. Vincent in 1879 for fear that the silver standard might return. Even though the British sterling coins were made of silver, they were fractional coins of the British gold sovereign and hence they maintained their gold value. This left a state of affairs, in which the British coinage circulated, being reckoned in dollar accounts at an automatic conversion rate of 1 dollar = 4 shillings 2 pence.

Pound sterling Official currency of the United Kingdom and other territories

The pound sterling, commonly known as the pound and less commonly referred to as sterling, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the British Antarctic Territory, and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have currencies called the pound.

Shilling Unit of currency formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other British Commonwealth countries, as well as much of the British Empire

The shilling is a unit of currency formerly used in Austria, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, United States and other British Commonwealth countries. Currently the shilling is used as a currency in four east African countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Somalia. It is also the proposed currency that the east African community plans to introduce . The word shilling comes from old English "Scilling", a monetary term meaning twentieth of a pound, and from the Proto-Germanic root skiljaną meaning 'to separate, split, divide.' The word "Scilling" is mentioned in the earliest recorded Germanic law codes, those of Æthelberht of Kent.

From 1949, with the introduction of the British West Indies dollar, the currency of St. Vincent became officially tied up with that of the British Eastern Caribbean territories in general. The British sterling coinage was eventually replaced by a new decimal coinage in 1955, with the new cent being equal to one half of the old penny.

Early history

In 1797, coins were produced for 1 black dog, 1 stampee and ¼ and ½ dollar. The black dog and stampee were made by counterstamping an "SV" monogram on French colonial coins, whilst the ¼ and ½ dollar were made by cutting 8 reales coins (Spanish dollars) into four or two and stamping them with the "SV" monogram.

Between 1811 and 1814 currency consisted of various counterstamped Spanish and Spanish colonial coins, some of which were cut or holed. The Spanish dollar was subdivided into bits, each worth 9 pence , 6 black dogs or 4 stampees. Before 1811, 1 dollar = 11 bits and the dollar equalled 8 Spanish reales. After 1811, 1 dollar = 12 bits and 1½ dollars equalled 8 reales. 4½, 6, 9 and 12 bits coins were produced. The 4½ and 9 bits were made from 2 and 4 reales coins. The 4½ bits was counterstamped with "S", "IV½" and "B", whilst the 9 bits was counterstamped with "S" and "IX". To produce the 6 and 12 bits, 8 reales coins were holed. The central plug was stamped with "S" and "VI" to produce the 6 bits, whilst the ring (or holey dollar) was stamped with "S" and "XII" to make the 12 bits.

Spanish dollar Former coin of the Spanish Empire

The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight or the peso, is a silver coin of approximately 38 mm diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497.

Penny unit of currency in various countries

A penny is a coin or a unit of currency in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius, it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is the formal name of the British penny (abbr. p) and the informal name of the American one cent coin (abbr. ¢) as well as the informal Irish designation of the 1 cent euro coin (abbr. c). It is the informal name of the cent unit of account in Canada, although one cent coins are no longer minted there. The name is also used in reference to various historical currencies also derived from the Carolingian system, such as the French denier and the German pfennig. It may also be informally used to refer to any similar smallest-denomination coin, such as the euro cent or Chinese fen.

A dog or a black dog was a coin in the Caribbean of Queen Anne of Great Britain, made of pewter or copper, typically worth 1½ pence or ​172 of a dollar. The name comes from the negative connotations of the word "dog," as they came from debased silver coins, and the dark color of those same debased coins. Black dogs were also at times called "stampes" or "stampees," as they were typically the coins of other colonial powers—French coins worth 2 sous or, equivalently, 24 diniers—stamped to make them British currency.

The revolutions in Spanish America cut off the supply of the Spanish Dollars at a time when Britain had recently introduced a successful gold standard. As such, it became expedient to introduce British sterling coinage to all the colonies. Sterling coinage was introduced following an imperial order-in-council of 1825 which set ratings for sterling in relation to the Spanish dollar and some other major coinages which were in circulation at the time.

Paper Money

In 1882, the first private banknotes were issued, denominated in dollars. It was pegged to sterling with 1 dollar = 4 shillings 2 pence. In 1935, the British West Indies dollar was introduced, equal in value to all other dollars circulating in the British West Indies. Private banks continued to issue notes until 1941. The British West Indies dollar was replaced in 1965 by the East Caribbean dollar.

Banknotes

The Colonial Bank issued 5 dollars notes in 1882. Barclays Bank (which had taken over the Colonial Bank) issued 5 dollars notes between 1926 and 1941.

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