Last updated: September 2026

What currency does Barbados use?

Barbados uses the Barbados dollar, issued by the Central Bank of Barbados. The bank states plainly that it has been the sole issuer of Barbados' currency since 1973, and that it determines the denominations as well as the design and security features of local banknotes and coins (Central Bank of Barbados, Barbados' Money).

The note family is compact. Barbadian banknotes are issued in six denominations, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100, and while colour and imagery vary by denomination, the paper notes were all the same size at 150 mm by 65 mm. Circulation coins run in four denominations: 5 cent, 10 cent, 25 cent and 1 dollar (Central Bank of Barbados, Past Banknotes).

That single size is worth noting, because the bank draws the comparison itself: unlike the euro or the pound sterling, every Barbadian denomination measures the same. It is a design choice that pushes all the identification work onto colour, portrait and, in the modern series, touch.

What money did Barbados use before 1973?

Before the Central Bank took over, Barbadian currency came from several different places. The bank lists four earlier sources of notes: individual commercial banks, the Government of Barbados, the British Caribbean Currency Board and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority (Central Bank of Barbados, Past Banknotes).

The institutional handover is dated precisely. The Central Bank of Barbados was established in May 1972 by the Government of Barbados to advance the pace of economic development in the country. Before 1972, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority was the institution responsible for the management of monetary matters for most of the smaller Eastern Caribbean countries, including Barbados (Central Bank of Barbados, History of The Bank).

The bank is candid about why that arrangement was outgrown. The Authority did not regulate financial institutions, and because it held responsibility for a number of territories there was no guarantee that its policies would be acceptable or appropriate to each jurisdiction. Founding a national central bank was also seen as key to accelerating economic development in the years after independence, which Errol Barrow led the country to in 1966 (Central Bank of Barbados, $50 polymer note).

For a collector this means the pre-1973 material is a shared Caribbean story rather than a purely Barbadian one, and it reads best alongside our hubs on Bermuda banknotes, Belize banknotes and Bahamas banknotes.

Who is on Barbados banknotes?

Six Barbadians, and the same six across the 1997 to 1999, 2007, 2013 and 2022 series. John Redman Bovell is on the $2, Sir Frank Worrell on the $5, Charles Duncan O'Neal on the $10, Samuel Jackman Prescod on the $20, Errol Walton Barrow on the $50 and Sir Grantley Adams on the $100. Several of them are among the country's ten National Heroes.

The Central Bank publishes a biography behind each face, and they are not ceremonial choices. John Redman Bovell, who lived from 1855 to 1928, was a scientist and agronomist credited with saving the Barbadian sugar industry: in the 1880s he ran cane breeding experiments at his own expense, abandoning the Bourbon variety for the White Transparent, and in 1908 he was awarded the Imperial Service Star for his contribution to tropical agriculture (Central Bank of Barbados, $2 note).

The $10 carries Charles Duncan O'Neal, a doctor from the privileged class who campaigned for the underprivileged, founded the Democratic League in 1924, established the Working Men's Association two years later and was elected to the House of Assembly in 1932. The $50 carries Errol Walton Barrow, who formed the Democratic Labour Party, became Premier after the 1961 general elections, led Barbados to independence in 1966, served as the country's first Prime Minister and died in office on 1 June 1987 (Central Bank of Barbados, $10 polymer note; Central Bank of Barbados, $50 polymer note).

That is the quiet distinction of Barbadian currency. The Central Bank's notes carry Barbadian portraits rather than a monarch, which sets them apart from most of the region: our pages on Queen Elizabeth II banknotes and portraits on banknotes cover how other countries made that choice.

What were the paper series of Barbados banknotes?

The paper notes ran from 1973 to the 2013 redesign, and the Central Bank documents two of the later families in detail: the 1997 to 1999 series and the 2007 series. They share a single template, and learning it is the fastest way to date a Barbadian note by eye.

On the paper notes the back of every denomination is the same: a vignette of the Parliament buildings and the careenage, plus half of the see-through feature at the extreme right. The front carries the denomination in numerals at all four corners, the coat of arms, a flying fish, the governor's signature and the portrait on the right. The watermark, identical on every denomination, is a map of Barbados with a few waves (Central Bank of Barbados, Past Banknotes).

The see-through feature is the detail collectors enjoy most. Held to the light, two partial images combine into one, and the image changes with the denomination: a windmill on the $2, a cricket ball and stumps on the $5, a dolphin on the $10, a pelican on the $20, the broken trident on the $50 and a dolphin again on the $100. Foil elements appear on the top two values, a blue pelican on the $50 and a gold dolphin on the $100, each overprinted with the Pride of Barbados flower.

The 2007 series kept the 1997 to 1999 designs and rebuilt the security. Corners were strengthened for durability, the large value numeral on the left of the front was raised further so that visually impaired users could tell denominations apart, and a new electrotype watermark was added beside the map: a broken trident on the $2, $5 and $10, and the Pride of Barbados flower on the $20, $50 and $100. The security threads changed too, with wave-shaped windowed threads reading CBB and the denomination on the lower values. Our guide to banknote security features explains what each of those does.

What is the 2013 series?

The 2013 series was the first ever redesign of Barbadian currency. The Central Bank launched it on 2 May 2013 and put it into circulation one month later, on 4 June 2013. It kept the six denominations, the 150 mm by 65 mm size and the basic colours, but gave the notes a bold modern design with vibrant hues (Central Bank of Barbados, 2013 Series).

The important change is on the back. The bank continued to honour the same outstanding Barbadians, but replaced the shared Parliament vignette with a different image on each denomination, chosen to connect to the person on the front. The $2, which carries the agronomist John Redman Bovell, now shows the Morgan Lewis Windmill, built in 1727 and operated until 1946, capable of delivering up to 1,500 gallons of cane juice a day to the boiling house, refurbished in 1996 and preserved as a heritage site.

The other headline change was accessibility. Tactile marks were added so that blind and visually impaired users could tell the notes apart, with the number of marks rising by one as the value rises, from one dot on the $2 to six dots on the $100. New and upgraded security features came with the redesign: a portrait watermark of the person on the front, a number watermark beneath it, a wave-like reflective thread microprinted with CBB and the value, a hidden number that appears when the note is tilted, invisible fibres that glow blue, yellow and blue under ultraviolet light, and a broken trident and waves that fluoresce (Central Bank of Barbados, $2 note).

What are the 2022 polymer banknotes?

The 2022 series is the second redesign and the first generation of Barbadian notes printed on polymer. The Central Bank unveiled it on 4 May 2022 and put it into circulation on 5 December 2022 (Central Bank of Barbados, 2022 Series). The six portraits carried over unchanged.

Three things make the series distinctive. The notes moved from a horizontal format to a vertical one, they are produced by De La Rue on a polymer substrate, and when the six are laid out in sequence, with the $2, $5 and $10 on top and the $20, $50 and $100 below, a map of Barbados runs through them (Coin World).

The security features use the substrate rather than decorate it. Each denomination has a transparent window at the bottom carrying an embedded image that repeats the picture on the back: the Morgan Lewis Windmill on the $2, the Charles Duncan O'Neal Bridge on the $10, Independence Square in Bridgetown on the $50. The windmill and the bridge take on a pearl-like sheen when the note is tilted, while the Independence Square image catches the light and changes colour. A hidden number appears inside the broken trident when the note is held up to the light, a smaller trident shows under ultraviolet light, microlettering hides behind the top numeral, and lines of the Barbados national anthem printed on the back light up under ultraviolet (Central Bank of Barbados, $2 polymer note; $10 polymer note; $50 polymer note).

The tactile marks changed as well, and they are the cleverest touch in the series. Instead of counting dots you feel a Roman numeral: two raised lines on the $2, an X on the $10, an L on the $50. The bank says the specific markings were chosen after consultation with the Association for the Blind and Deaf, and that because of the change in material the marks should last the lifetime of the note (Central Bank of Barbados, 27 June 2023).

The series has been recognised outside Barbados. It was named Best New Series at Reconnaissance International's Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards, announced during the 2023 High Security Printing Latin America conference in Nassau in early June 2023. If you want the wider argument about substrates, our page on polymer versus paper banknotes sets it out.

Barbados banknote series at a glance

The table sets the issuers and the modern series side by side. Dates are those the Central Bank of Barbados gives on its own banknote and press pages.

Read the portrait column and you have the point of Barbadian currency: four documented design generations and one unchanged cast.

How do you start collecting Barbados banknotes?

Collect by denomination rather than by series. Because the same six people have carried across the modern series, a single denomination run shows the whole design history in one row: a 1997 to 1999 paper note, a 2007 upgrade, a 2013 redesign and a vertical polymer note, all with the same face.

If you would rather collect complete sets, the 2022 polymer series is the obvious first target. Six notes, one launch date, a documented set of security features and the map that runs across the whole family when you lay them out in order. The 2013 series is the natural companion set and the clearest illustration of what the polymer changeover replaced. The pre-1973 material, issued by commercial banks, the Government of Barbados, the British Caribbean Currency Board and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority, is the historical lane and the one where patience matters most.

Condition drives the rest. Grades run from Uncirculated down through AU, XF, VF, F, VG and G, and the certified market uses a 1 to 70 scale: our banknote grading guide explains it, and graded versus raw banknotes covers when third party certification earns its cost. The banknote glossary defines prefixes, specimens and replacements, Pick numbers explains catalog references, and what determines banknote value covers the factors that separate two notes of the same denomination. In a hot, humid climate how to store banknotes is not optional advice.

Where can you buy Barbados banknotes?

Buy from an established dealer that authenticates every note, documents where it came from, and stands behind it in writing. Prices far below every other seller, vague sourcing and no returns are the signals to walk away from. One thing not to expect from the issuer: the Central Bank told the public that when the polymer notes went into circulation, members of the public would not be able to come directly to the Central Bank to get them (Central Bank of Barbados, 5 December 2022).

Planet Banknote sources notes direct from mints, central banks and authorized distributors rather than reselling anonymous lots. Browse the current selection through the banknotes by country directory, where availability changes with what has been sourced. If you are weighing a certified note against a raw one, PMG versus PCGS explains what each grading service puts on the label. Our guide to buying world banknotes safely and how to collect world banknotes cover the rest.

Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.