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 leaders, scholars and icons from the ECCU’s eight member countries. The redesign, revealed in Dominica on July 9, also introduces the ECCB logo encircled by ECCU flags and signals a broader shift toward regional identity on currency.

Why it matters: - The new banknotes put regional identity at the center of everyday currency across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. - The redesign replaces a long-standing colonial-era image with figures chosen to reflect service, leadership, scholarship and excellence in the region. - The change affects both banknotes and coins, broadening the visual shift across EC currency.

What happened: - The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank unveiled redesigned EC banknotes on Thursday, July 9, during the Ceremony to Mark the Change in Chairmanship of the ECCB Monetary Council in the Commonwealth of Dominica. - Governor Timothy N.J. Antoine and members of the Monetary Council presented the new designs. - The banknotes no longer feature the likeness of the late Queen Elizabeth II. - The redesign was shaped after the Monetary Council invited public input through the central bank.

The details: - The $100 banknote now features Sir William Arthur Lewis, winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize for Economics, and The Right Honourable Sir John George Melvin Compton of Saint Lucia. - The $50 banknote features former ECCB Governor Sir K. Dwight Venner, who led the bank from 1989 to 2015, and The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw of Saint Christopher 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 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’s likeness has moved to the front of the $50 banknote. - Sir William Arthur Lewis has moved from the back of the $100 banknote to the front. - The redesign for EC coins would replace Queen Elizabeth II on the front with the ECCU logo.

Between the lines: - The currency update reflects a deliberate effort to anchor the region’s money in local achievement rather than monarchy. - Featuring two figures on each note signals an attempt to spread recognition across multiple member countries and generations. - The move to place the ECCU logo on both notes and coins suggests a stronger push for a shared regional brand.

What's next: - The ECCB has now introduced the new designs, but the release did not give a date for when the redesigned notes and coins will enter circulation. - Public attention is likely to shift toward implementation and how quickly the new currency replaces older designs.

The bottom line: - The ECCB is remaking EC currency into a regional tribute to the people and leaders of the ECCU, with Queen Elizabeth II removed from the new designs.