Historical Sketch

Portuguese navigators were the first Europeans to arrive at the islands of St. Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha in the early 16th century, all uninhabited at the time. One and a half century later, the English East India Company obtained a charter for the rule over St. Helena, which proved important to secure the passage to the territories in the East. British colonial administration took over after the Napoleonic Wars, and in 1834, St. Helena became a crown colony, Ascension was added as dependency in 1922, Tristan Da Cunha in 1938. The 2009 constitution made the three islands equal constituents of the overseas territory.

Monetary History Overview

The East India Company did not introduce any particular currency order to St. Helena. Beside occasional British coinage, Spanish trade coins and some Indian coins were current and, from time to time, were subject to official ratings. In 1821, both the Company and a local merchang commissioned the production of coppers for St. Helena. In 1880, all foreign coinage was outlawed, and British currency became exclusive legal tender, complemented, after 1925, by South African money. The latter was terminated in 1949 and British currency remained the only circulating medium. The currency matters began to change with the ordinance of 1975. A currency board, called St. Helena Currency Fund, began operations in Ocrober 1976 and beginning of the following year, paper money for the Saint Helena Pound was issued for circulation alongside British notes, which remained legal tender on par. Local subsidiary coins followed in 1983.

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Monetary History Sources