ECCB unveils redesigned EC banknotes honoring regional heroes

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank has unveiled new EC banknote designs that replace Queen Elizabeth II with regional figures and symbols across the eight-member Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. The redesign, revealed in Dominica, places national heroes, a new ECCB logo and the ECCU flag motif at the center of the currency series.

Why it matters: - The new banknotes shift the region’s currency identity toward Eastern Caribbean history, leadership and achievement. - The redesign also removes the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II from the EC banknotes and coins. - The change is meant to reflect a currency that belongs to the people of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.

What happened: - Governor Timothy N.J. Antoine and members of the ECCB Monetary Council unveiled the new EC banknote designs on Thursday, 9 July, in the Commonwealth of Dominica. - The announcement took place during the Ceremony to Mark the Change in Chairmanship of the ECCB Monetary Council. - The redesigned banknotes honor people, heritage and achievements across the eight ECCU member countries.

The details: - The $100 banknote now features Sir William Arthur Lewis, who won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics, and The Right Honourable Sir John George Melvin Compton of Saint Lucia. - The $50 banknote features former ECCB Governor The Honourable Sir K. Dwight Venner, who served from 1989 to 2015, and The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw of Saint Christopher [St Kitts] and Nevis. - The $20 banknote features The Right Honourable Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Snr of Antigua and Barbuda and The Honourable Dame Mary Eugenia Charles of the Commonwealth of Dominica. - The $10 banknote features The Most Excellent William Henry Bramble of Montserrat and The Honourable James Ronald Webster of Anguilla. - The $5 banknote features The Right Honourable Robert Milton Cato of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Sir Kirani James, LLD (Hons), of Grenada. - The new series includes the ECCB logo encircled by the flags of the ECCU for the first time. - Sir K. Dwight Venner now appears on the front of the $50 banknote instead of the back. - Sir William Arthur Lewis has moved from the back of the $100 banknote to the front. - The redesign for EC coins replaces the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II on the front with the ECCU logo.

Between the lines: - The banknote redesign signals a broader push to present Eastern Caribbean currency as a regional symbol rather than a colonial-era one. - The nominations came from each participating member country, with the stated goal of reflecting service, leadership, scholarship and excellence. - The selection of widely recognized political, civic and sporting figures suggests an effort to create shared regional pride across the currency series.

What's next: - The ECCB has not announced a specific circulation date for the new notes and coins in the release. - The new designs are likely to enter public use through the central bank’s rollout process.

The bottom line: - The ECCB is recasting EC currency as a showcase for regional identity, with national heroes and local symbols replacing the monarchy on the notes and coins.