Jamaican pound
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
Unit | |
---|---|
Symbol | £ |
Denominations | |
Subunit | |
1⁄20 | shilling |
1⁄240 | penny |
Symbol | |
shilling | s or /– |
penny | d |
Banknotes | 5/–, 10/–, £1, £5 |
Coins | 1⁄2d, 1d, 1+1⁄2d, 3d, 6d, 1/–, 2/–, 2/6, 5/– |
Demographics | |
User(s) | Jamaica |
Issuance | |
Central bank | Bank of Jamaica |
Website | www |
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
The pound was the official currency of Jamaica between 1840 and 1969. It circulated as a mixture of sterling coinage and locally issued coins and banknotes and was always equal to the pound sterling. The Jamaican pound was also used in the Cayman and Turks and Caicos Islands.
History
The history of currency in Jamaica should be considered in the wider picture of the currencies of the British West Indies. Jamaica was the only British West Indies territory to use special regional issues of the sterling coinage.[a]
The earliest money used in Jamaica was the
In 1839 an act was passed by British Parliament declaring that as of December 31, 1840, only sterling coinage would be legal tender in Jamaica, demonetizing all of the Spanish coins, with the exception of the gold doubloon which was valued at £3 4s. Coins in use were thus the farthing (1⁄4d), halfpenny (1⁄2d), penny (1d), three halfpenny (1+1⁄2d), threepence (3d), sixpence (6d), shilling (1/–), florin (2/–), half-crown (2/6), and crown (5/–).
The emancipation of the slaves in 1838 increased the need for coinage in Jamaica, particularly low denomination coins, but black Jamaicans were still reluctant to use copper coins. The solution was to use cupronickel, adopted in 1869. Penny and halfpennies were minted for use in Jamaica, becoming the first truly Jamaican coins. Beginning in 1880, the farthing was also minted in cupronickel.
In 1904, the Currency Notes Law was passed, “constituting a Board of Commissioners to issue notes called currency notes for the value of 10 shillings each,” although no such notes were issued at that time. This law was amended by Law 17 of 1918 which authorized “the issue of currency notes for such denominations as may be approved.” The Commissioners of Currency issued the first notes under these laws on 15 March 1920, in the denominations of 2/6, 5/–, and 10/–, with each note carrying the inscription that they were “Issued under the authority of Law 27 of 1904 & Law 17 of 1918.” Only these three smaller denominations were issued by the Board of Commissioners; £1 and £5 notes were issued by the chartered banks operating in Jamaica.[1] However, in 1940, the government began producing £1 and £5 notes.
In October 1960, the Bank of Jamaica was given the sole right to mint coins and produce banknotes in Jamaica. Their notes were issued on May 1, 1961, in denominations of 5/–, 10/–, £1 and £5.
On January 30, 1968, the
The new
Image | Denomination | Obverse | Reverse |
---|---|---|---|
[1] | 5/– | Queen Elizabeth II |
Dunn's River Falls |
10/– | Queen Elizabeth II |
Banana plantation | |
[2] | £1 | Queen Elizabeth II |
Harvesting |
[3] | £5 | Queen Elizabeth II |
Storage plant, woman with fruit basket |
Notes
- Bahamas in 1806, and the four pence coin which was specially issued for all the British West Indies, and later only for British Guiana.
References
- ^ Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Jamaica". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.