Special Facts about Currency of Bahamian - Bahamian Dollar
The Bahamian dollar is the currency of the Bahamas¸ and is denoted by the sign: $. The ISO 4217 code used to denote is BSD. The Bahamian dollar has been the currency of the Bahamas since 1966. Though most of the time it is abbreviated with the dollar sign¸ sometimes the sign B$to is also used to differentiated it from the dollars.
One Bahamian dollar can be further subdivided into 100 cents.
Currency of Bahamian - Bahamian Dollar Coin Types
When the Bahamian dollar was first introduced in 1966¸ the coins were issued in the denominations of 1¸ 5¸ 10¸ 15¸ 25¸ 50 cents and 1 dollar. The coin of 1 cent was cast out of nickel-brass whereas the 5¸ 10¸ and 15 cent were struck in cupronickel; the 25 cent coin was made of nickel and the 50 cent and 1 dollar coins were made of silver. The shape of the 10 cent was scalloped while the 15 cent looked square.
The circulation of the silver coins was stopped after 1966¸ and the coins of 1 cent started being made out of bronze instead of nickel-brass in 1970; however¸ it changed to brass in 1974 and copper-plated zinc in 1985. In 1989¸ the 50 cent and 1 dollar were struck out of cupro-nickel instead of silver.
The 1¸ 5¸ and 25 cent coins that are in circulation are almost the same size as their U.S. counterparts¸ but have a different metal composition. Another important fact about Bahamina dollar coins are¸ though the 15 cent coins are still produced by the Central Bank¸ they are not in popular use any more. The Bahamina dollar coins come with the Bahamian Coat of Arms on one side with the words Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the date while on the reverse side¸ there are impressions of objects from Bahamian culture and also the value of the coins in words. The different objects in coins of different denominations are:
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1 cent: a starfish¸
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5 cent: a pineapple¸
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10 cent: two bonefish¸
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15 cent: a hibiscus¸
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25 cent: a native sloop
Currency of Bahamian - Bahamian Dollar Banknote Types
Notes of denominations of ½¸ 1¸ 3¸ 5¸ 10¸ 20¸ 50 and 100 dollars were introduced into the Bahamian dollar currency system in the year 1966. The Bahamas Monetary Authority also started issuing paper money in 1968 but the denominations are same as before. The responsibility was handed over to the Central Bank of the Bahamas in 1974. However¸ the first issues of the notes introduced by the Central Bank of the Bahamas did not include the ½ and 3 dollar denominations; however¸ they were introduced again in 1984.
The Bahamian dollar underwent major makeovers in the last twenty years. One of the most prominent is that of the redesigning of dollar in celebration of the quincentennial of the landing of Christopher Columbus on a Bahamian island he named San Salvador.
Even until few years ago¸ the notes had the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II as the head of the State¸ but after that they started to display the images of deceased politicians who have left a mark in the history of the Bahamas. However¸ the policy is again being reversed now. Some of the images on the different Bahamian dollar banknotes are:
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$½ shows an older Queen Elizabeth II and the back shows a picture of Sister Sarah in the Nassau Straw Market;
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$1 shows Sir Lynden Pindling and on the back the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band
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$3 has a young Queen Elizabeth II and on the back shows a Family Island Regatta with native sloops
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$5 – Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield and the back shows a Junkanoo group 'rushing' in the Junkanoo parade
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$10 – an older Queen Elizabeth II (replacing Sir Stafford Sands) and the back shows the Hope Town Lighthouse and settlement in Abaco
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$20 – Sir Milo Butler; the $50 – Sir Roland Symonette
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$100 – an older Queen Elizabeth II and the back¸ a jumping blue marlin¸ the national fish of The Bahamas.
Bahamian Currency Exchange Rate to other World Famous Currencies like US¸ UK etc
As of February 19th¸ 2011¸ the currency exchange rates of Bahamian Dollar to the currencies of US and UK are:
1.00 USD = 1.00000 BSD
1.00 GBP = 1.62470 BSD
However¸ the values are floating¸ and the exchange rates always tend to change according to the money market trends.
Currency of Bahamian - Official Website details of Bahamian Dollar
You can check the official website for Bahamian dollar at www.centralbankbahamas.com for additional details.
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