On Thursday, July 9, 2026, in the Commonwealth of Dominica as part of the ceremony to mark the change in chairmanship of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Monetary Council, ECCB Governor, Timothy N. J. Antoine and members of the Monetary Council unveiled and officially issued new banknotes that no longer feature the likeness of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The new designs honor the people, heritage and achievements of the eight member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The ECCB was established in October 1983: it is the monetary authority for Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

"Recognizing that the currency belongs to the people of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, the Monetary Council invited the public, through the Central Bank, to help shape this new chapter in our shared history," Governor Antoine said before the unveiling. The ECCB Governor continued: "The response was clear and compelling. The people called for our currency to honor our own heroes, nation builders and persons whose lives and achievements have enriched our countries and strengthened our region." The Governor noted that, guided by that mandate, each participating member country was invited to nominate an individual whose life and legacy reflect the highest ideals of service, leadership, scholarship, and excellence.

The obverse of the $5 banknote features The Right Honorable Milton Cato (from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) on the right and Sir Kirani Z. James, LLD (from Grenada) on the left. The reverse of the banknote remains unchanged with Trafalgar Falls on Dominica at top and Admiral's House on Antigua at bottom.

Robert Milton Cato (1915 – 1997) was a socialist Vincentian politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also held the offices of Premier of Saint Vincent and Chief Minister of Saint Vincent before independence. Cato was the leader of the Saint Vincent Labour Party, and led the country through independence in 1979. Sir Kirani Zeno James (born 1992) is a Grenadian professional sprinter who specializes in the 400 meters. He won the 400 m at the World Championships in 2011 and won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. In the 400 meters, James also won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, thus becoming the first man to earn the full set of three medals in the centennial history of the event.

 

The obverse of the $10 banknote features The Most Excellent William Henry Bramble (from Montserrat) on the right and The Honorable Ronald Webster (from Anguilla) on the left. The reverse of the banknote has been changed. The scene of Admiralty Bay (Bequia Island, Grenadines) was replaced by the Dark View Falls (waterfalls) on Saint Vincent. The Warspite (a two-masted schooner) from Anguilla remains pictured at the bottom.

William Henry Bramble (1901 – 1988) was a union leader and a political-party leader from Montserrat. From his Montserrat Labour Party, he was the first Chief Minister of the territory, serving from January 1960 to December 1970. Owing to his social compromise for the poor and political action, Bramble is generally regarded as a national hero. James Ronald Webster (1926 – 2016) was a politician from Anguilla. After ending the Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla federation in 1967, he served as the island territory's first Chief Minister from February 1976 to February 1977 and again from May 1980 to March 1984.

 

The obverse of the $20 banknote features The Right Honorable Sir Vere C. Bird Senior (from Antigua and Barbuda) on the right and The Honorable Dame Mary Eugenia Charles (from the Commonwealth of Dominica) on the left. On the reverse, the Government House in Montserrat was changed to the Montserrat Oriole (bird) and the national flower of Montserrat, the red heliconia. The smaller Government House image at the bottom was also changed to red heliconia flowers. The nutmeg plant from Grenada remains the same, pictured in the middle. The holographic foil strip has also been updated.

Vere Cornwall Bird Sr. (1909 – 1999) was an Antiguan politician who was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. His son, Lester Bryant Bird, succeeded him as prime minister. In 1994, he was declared a national hero. Mary Eugenia Charles (1919 – 2005) was a Dominican politician who was Prime Minister of Dominica from July 1980 until June 1995. The first woman lawyer in Dominica, she was Dominica's first, and to date only, woman prime minister. She was the first woman in the Americas to be elected in her own right as head of government.

 

The obverse of the $50 banknote features The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw (from Saint Christopher and Nevis) on the right and former Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank The Honorable Sir K. Dwight Venner on the left. The reverse was also adjusted. The likeness of Sir K. Dwight Venner now appears on the front of the $50 banknote. The top image of Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (St. Kitts) at the top was extended to include a cannon from the fortress. Brimstone Hill is still pictured at the bottom. The holographic foil strip has also been updated.

Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw (1916 – 1978) was the first Premier of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and had previously served as Chief Minister, legislator and labor activist. Kenneth Dwight Vincent Venner (1946 – 2016) was the governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, a position he held from December 1989 to November 2015. Prior to that, he served as the director of finance and planning in the St. Lucian Government between November 1981 and November 1989.

 

The obverse of the $100 banknote features The Right Honorable Sir John Compton (from Saint Lucia) on the right and Sir William Arthur Lewis (also from Saint Lucia) on the left. The reverse was also adjusted. The likeness of Sir William Arthur Lewis, which now appears on the front of the $100 banknote, has been replaced by the national bird of Saint Lucia, the Saint Lucia amazon. The top image of Les Pitons of St. Lucia remains at the top and bottom. The holographic foil strip has also been updated.

John George Melvin Compton (1925 – 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first prime minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton served as prime minister three times: briefly in 1979, again from 1982 to 1996, and from 2006 until his death in 2007. He cofounded the conservative United Workers Party (UWP) in 1964 and led the party until 1996, again from 1998 to 2000, and again from 2005 to 2007. William Arthur Lewis (1915 – 1991) was a Saint Lucian economist and the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. He remains the only black person to have won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979, sharing it with Theodore Schultz, for their pioneering research into economic development research with particular consideration of the problems of developing countries.

 

The new banknote series also features, for the first time, the ECCB logo encircled by the flags of the ECCU. The logo is included at center right on the front of each banknote, on the former chest area of the Queen.

 

 

Donald Ludwig, July 13, 2026