In one of its latest initiatives, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has issued a series of notes with braille features.
In a release dated April 18, 2012 the Central Bank says: “In an effort to provide EC Notes which are easier for blind and visually impaired persons to use, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has issued a series of notes with braille features.
The release explains as follows: Braille is a universal system of writing and printing which enables blind or visually impaired persons to read and write through touch. It consists of a pattern of raised dots which are arranged on special paper and represent letters, numbers and characters.
The braille characters on the upgraded EC Notes feature a cricket theme in the form of balls and stumps. These characters have been added to the 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar bills. All the other features of the notes, including the profile watermark of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, the security features and the images, remain the same.
The $10 EC notes with the braille features are now in circulation and are available at the commercial banks in the ECCB member countries. The other three notes will be issued on demand.
The Bank boasts that its management of the EC currency has helped to maintain its peg to the US dollar at a parity of EC$2.70 to US$1.00 since 1976. The maintenance of the fixed rate and the Bank’s continual upgrading of the security features of the EC notes have helped to safeguard the currency’s international value and engender a high level of confidence in the EC dollar.
A bit of the history, shows the first ECCB banknotes were issued on 15 November 1984 to commemorate the ECCB’s first anniversary. Prior to 1984, the notes in circulation were issued by the East Caribbean Currency Authority (ECCA) between 1965 and 1983 and the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB) between 1950 and 1965.
