Features of EC Currency Notes
by Bennette Roach
Word quickly spread that there were counterfeit EC dollars circulating in Montserrat. Our investigations revealed that one store had suspected the notes, but the Bank nor the ECCB agency office had been advised.
But Montserrat was not the only OECS territory experiencing the counterfeit notes. CMC reported that Grenada police Wednesday, August 16 urged people to be on the lookout for counterfeit East Caribbean dollars, saying that ‘counterfeit EC$50 and EC$100 dollar notes were now in circulation here and that they had the serial numbers VM033672 and SR380132 respectively.’
The serial numbers are the same as those reported in Montserrat as confirmed by Claudette Weekes, in charge of the local agency office and who at first said she had no official report of the counterfeit notes. However, responding to the eventual report and noted with an advisory. “The public is advised to be on the alert for counterfeit EC Currency notes, particularly during this time of heightened regional festivities. Vigilance should be exercised when conducting cash transactions to ensure the authenticity of notes.”
The advisory further noted: “Counterfeit notes do not have any value and it is a criminal offense to pass them on. If you encounter any suspicious looking note, take it to the ECCB Headquarters, any of
Final EC Bank Notes Security Features
the ECCB Agency Offices or the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) within your territory for assessment.”
In Grenada CMC reported that the police did not say whether the circulation of the counterfeit currency was linked to the island’s Carnival celebrations that ended on Tuesday. But they warned persons that it is a criminal offense to have in their possession or pass on counterfeit money.
Meanwhile in Montserrat, Mrs. Weekes informed: “What I do know is that if they suspect notes in the community and always there are suspected notes there is a procedure for dealing with them. The matter should be reported to the police there are officers in the Royal Montserrat Police Service trained to identify the note and to classify them accordingly after which the note would be passed on to the agency office for my scrutiny and then I’ll pass them on to the currency department in St. Kitts.”
She explains further: “… note would have a watermark which is the shadow of the Queen’s head when it’s held up to the light. It’s not the obvious image of the Queen that we’re accustomed to. It is a shadow feature, a watermark it’s called of the Queen’s head that is a standard security feature, and also one would be an electro type which reads ECCB and it runs down the side of the note and several other features which are better identified if you can see them. That’s why I’m encouraging people that if they’re not sure to contact the agency office.
Montserrat Grenada along with six other Caribbean OECS countries, namely Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, share the same currency.
