For the first time in more than six decades, countries of the Eastern Caribbean have unveiled a new family of banknotes that no longer feature the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The redesigned notes, which will be introduced in phases beginning in 2027, instead celebrate some of the region’s most influential leaders, national heroes and cultural icons. The final designs were chosen through a public voting process involving residents of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union member states.

Among those honoured is Antigua and Barbuda’s first prime minister and Father of the Nation, the Right Honourable Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Sr.

Sir Vere’s portrait will appear on the new EC$20 banknote alongside another distinguished regional leader, the late Prime Minister of Dominica, the Honourable Dame Mary Eugenia Charles.

The new EC$5 note will feature the Right Honourable Milton Cato, the first Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, together with Grenadian Olympic champion Sir Kirani James.

On the EC$10 note will be Montserrat’s first Chief Minister and first National Hero, the Most Excellent William Henry Bramble, alongside Anguilla’s first Chief Minister, the Honourable James Ronald Webster.

The EC$50 note will continue to feature the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s former long-serving Governor, Sir Kenneth Dwight Venner, while adding St Kitts and Nevis’ first National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewelyn Bradshaw.

Meanwhile, the EC$100 note will continue to bear the image of Nobel Prize-winning development economist Sir Arthur Lewis, with the addition of St Lucia’s first Prime Minister, Sir John Compton.

The new currency marks a significant change in the region’s monetary history. Since 1965, Eastern Caribbean banknotes have featured Queen Elizabeth II.

Before the introduction of the Eastern Caribbean dollar, British Caribbean notes and coins circulated throughout the region. They were issued by the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB), established in 1950 with the sole authority to issue currency for its member territories: Barbados, British Guiana, the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Initially pegged to the British pound sterling, the Eastern Caribbean dollar has been fixed to the United States dollar – the region’s principal trading partner – at an exchange rate of EC$2.7169 to US$1.00 since 1976.