The Jamaican dollar
The Jamaican dollar is the official currency of Jamaica - the place where it is issued - since 1969. Its abbreviation is the dollar sign $, or J $, JA $ to differentiate it from the US dollar and other types of dollars.
Origins and history of the Jamaican dollar
Before the Jamaican dollar, put into circulation in 1969, the currency circulating in Jamaica was the pound sterling.
On January 30, 1968, the House of Representatives of Jamaica unanimously approved the introduction of the dollar, which would replace the Jamaican pound.
The Committee also recommended that, as far as possible, the new coins should be of the same size and weight as the denominations in pounds, shillings and pennies, to which the public had become accustomed. As for the tickets, it was recommended that portraits of national figures should replace the portrait of the queen and that the motto should be incorporated into the design of the new banknotes. It was also considered convenient that the new banknotes had the same size and the same basic colors.
In June 1994, the Council of Ministers approved a new monetary structure according to which: the $ 5 bill would be replaced by a currency; the $ 1 for a 25 cents, the 10 cents would have a new look and the 5 cents would be abandoned. As such, the new structure would include coins of 1, 10 and 25 cents, 1 and $ 5, while the bills would be 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 $.
In 1999 it was decided to coin another banknote and a coin of 10. In March 2000, a $ 1000 bill was put into circulation and in July of the same year, the $ 20 bill was replaced by a coin. It carried the portrait of the national hero Marcus Garvey and was the first bimetallic coin to be produced by Jamaica.
Dollars and coins of the Jamaican dollar in use
As for the tickets, the 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 dollars issued by the Bank of Jamaica are in circulation (Bank of Jamaica).
Currently, coins of 1, 10 and 25 cents and of 1, 5, 10 and 20 Jamaican dollars circulate.
Did you know?
- The first coins used in Jamaica were the maravedíes, copper and Spanish.
- The currency of Jamaica can be called both Jamaican dollar and Jamaican dollar, in the same way that the nationality is Jamaican or Jamaican.
- Jamaica achieved its independence in 1962.
- The official language of Jamaica is English.
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