BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN a matter of days, some 1,000,000 painted commemorative $1 coins will be circulated by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) to mark milestones of that financial institution and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority (ECCA).
The ECCB issued a press release today (Sept. 28) informing that the pending circulation of the coins is to mark the 50th anniversary of the ECCA having been established in 1965 and the ECCB’s 32ndhaving been established in 1983.
The coin, according to the release, would carry features of the $1 bill which the bank had ceased issuing in 1989.
“The coin is the exact shape and size of the existing one-dollar coin. The reverse side of the coin will bear some of the features of the ECCA one-dollar banknote which is no longer in circulation, while the obverse side will carry the usual portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.”
The coins will be distributed across the Eastern Caribbean member states: St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Montserrat, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
SKNVibes has been advised that on October 1, 2015 the pieces would be available to the public through commercial banks.
The ECCB’s communique spoke to the method employed in creating the coloured coins, noting that it makes the coins more durable.
“The Royal Canadian Mint, which has been minting EC currency coins for the past five years, used pad printing technology in the production of the new colourful coin. This method represents the next step in the evolution of painted coins and results in greater resistance to wear and tear.”
In 2009, the ECCB issued a $1 commemorative coin in observance of its 25th anniversary celebrated on October 1, 2008. And in 2011 it issued a $2 coin in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Financial Information Month.
