Historical Sketch

Christopher Columbus discovered the main island for the Europeans in 1493 and named it "Isla de San Vicente". When the Spanish influence went to decline, France and Britain struggled for control, with Britain finally prevailing in 1763 it was in British possession. After the disintegration of the West Indian Federation, Saint Vincent with a chain of neighbouring islands became a separate British possession in 1962 and attained independence in 1979.

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 Saint Vincent this was done in 1839, and as the Spanish Dollar had been traded at 125 Pence, it amounted to 60%. 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, Saint Vincent 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, Saint Vincent and Grenadines have been using the Eastern Caribbean Dollar instead of a national currency.

Saint Vincent and Grenadines joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 28.12.1979.

Currency Units Timeline

Currency Institutes Timeline

Monetary History Sources