Historical Sketch

Christopher Columbus discovered the two islands for the Europeans in 1493, the larger one was named Isla de Santa Maria la Antigua (after a church in Seville). Antigua came under British rule in 1638. Barbuda got colonized in 1678, and the English crown gave it to the Codrington family which ruled it until the annexation to Antigua colony in 1859. In 1872, Antigua (with Barbuda) became part of the Leeward Islands colony. After the disintegration of the West Indian Federation in 1962, Antigua became separate British possession, and in 1981 attained independence under the name of Antigua and Barbuda.

Monetary History Overview

The Caribbean had always been an important station on the trade routes between the Spanish American possessions and Europe. Thus, Spanish trade coins got introduced and dominated the payment transactions, predominantly the so-called "Spanish Dollar", the eight Reals in silver. The isolation of the islands brought scarcity of specie and thus caused an overvaluation of the trade coins compared with the European markets. In the English possessions, various "accounting Shillings" emerged which were determined by the local valuation of the Spanish trade coins, differing considerably from the metropolitan rating of 50 Pence Sterling per Spanish Dollar. In 1825, the Pound Sterling became the sole currency for all British possessions. The dominance of Spanish trade coins in payments did not change for the time being. In the mid-19th century, however, the local accounting currencies were abolished everywhere, which corresponded to a massive devaluation of the local money. In Antigua this was done in 1847, and as the Spanish Dollar had been traded at 112½ Pence, it amounted to almost 56%. The foreign coinage was tolerated in payments until the late 19th century, and the name "Dollar" remained in customary use for an amount of 50 Pence Sterling, the former rate of the Spanish Dollar. In the 1930s, it came under the authority of the Barbados Currency Board. Since 1951, the monetary affairs are handled by the British West Indian and, later, Eastern Caribbean institutions.

Since independence, Antigua and Barbuda have been using the Eastern Caribbean Dollar instead of a national currency.

Antigua and Barbuda joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 25.02.1982.

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Monetary History Sources