ECCB unveils redesigned EC banknotes honoring regional heroes

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank has revealed new EC banknote designs that replace Queen Elizabeth II with national heroes and regional icons from across the eight-member Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. The changes, unveiled in Dominica on July 9, also introduce the ECCB logo surrounded by ECCU flags and signal a broader redesign of EC coins.

Why it matters: - The new banknotes shift the region’s currency identity toward Eastern Caribbean leaders, scholars and nation builders. - The redesign reflects public input and gives the ECCU a stronger shared visual identity. - The change affects the EC banknote series and points to a broader update of EC coins as well.

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 new notes no longer feature the likeness of the late Queen Elizabeth II. - The EC currency redesign honors the people, heritage and achievements of the eight ECCU member countries.

The details: - The $100 banknote features Sir William Arthur Lewis, who won 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 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 banknote 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. - EC coins will also be redesigned, with Queen Elizabeth II on the front replaced by the ECCU logo.

Between the lines: - The redesign follows a public call for currency that reflects regional identity rather than colonial symbolism. - The selection of figures spans politics, economics and public service, which broadens the currency’s historical message. - The placement of the ECCU logo and national flags suggests a push to standardize a regional brand across the currency set.

What's next: - The ECCB will move forward with introducing the redesigned banknotes and the updated coin series. - The rollout will make the new regional designs part of everyday transactions across the ECCU.