Last updated: September 2026

What currency do the Cayman Islands use?

The Cayman Islands dollar, issued and redeemed by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Before 1972 the islands used Jamaican currency. The change came after a committee decided a local currency would be to the economic and political advantage of the Cayman Islands, and the United Kingdom gave formal approval in September 1970 (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority).

The legal machinery came next. The Cayman Islands Currency Board was created by the Currency Law of 1971 to administer the physical issue and redemption of currency, and the same law allowed the Board's job to grow over time into investment management and, eventually, clearing accounts for the local commercial banks. A Currency Committee had already been charged with introducing the currency and proposing the legislation.

The Board's job passed on. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority was established on 1 January 1997 as the primary regulator of financial services in and from the islands, and it took over the monetary job of issuing and redeeming the currency and managing the currency reserves (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, About Us). That handover is stamped on the paper, and reading it is the first skill a Cayman collector picks up.

When did the Cayman Islands get their own banknotes?

On 1 May 1972, when the Currency Board commenced operations with the new issue. The Authority's own account of the twenty fifth anniversary puts it plainly: in 1969 the government established the Currency Board, which with the assistance of the Bank of England and the Crown Agents conducted a detailed study of all aspects of the islands' currency and presented its recommendations in 1971.

Two dates therefore attach to the same family of notes, and the Authority uses both. Its currency history page says that in 1971 the introduction of Cayman currency was based upon a decimal system consisting of four notes of $1, $5, $10 and $25 and four circulating coins of 1, 5, 10 and 25 cents. Its commemorative coin page says the islands had their own currency for the first time in their history by 1 May 1972, thus replacing the Jamaican currency previously in circulation (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, 25th Anniversary of the Currency Board). The catalog splits the difference: the standard reference files the first family under the heading 1971 Currency Law and gives 1972 as the year of issue for the dollar (PMG World Paper Money Price Guide, read September 2026).

Bigger denominations arrived in two steps. The Board introduced $100 and $40 notes in 1981, followed by the $50 note in 1985. That is why a complete Cayman type set runs to seven denominations rather than six, and why the $40 is the note most collectors ask about first.

What happened to the Jamaican money already in circulation?

It was withdrawn over a single summer. Jamaican notes and coins remained legal tender in the Cayman Islands until 31 August 1972, which gave the Board four months of overlap to make sure there was enough new currency to go round during the changeover.

The mechanism was deliberately simple. All Jamaican currency held by and returned to the banks was paid over at frequent intervals to Barclays Bank International Limited, acting as agent of the Board, in exchange for Cayman currency, and the Bank of Jamaica was informed of the amounts withdrawn. By the end of June 1972 the Board recorded J$710,895 in Jamaican notes and coins redeemed. The Authority notes there was no opposition from the Bank of Jamaica, which gave the Board valuable assistance throughout the transition.

For a collector this explains the supply picture. Cayman notes only ever circulated on three small islands, and the first issue had to serve a population and an economy that were both far smaller than they are now, so print runs were modest and survivors in high grade are not common. The same pattern runs through our hubs for Bahamas banknotes, Bermuda banknotes and Belize banknotes.

What do the Cayman Islands series letters mean?

The letter before the serial number tells you which print series a note belongs to. The Authority is explicit about it: Cayman banknotes carry a letter prefix before the serial number which refers to the series of its print, and the letters have run A, B, C and D since 1972 (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, Circulating Banknotes).

Each letter marks a real change rather than a reprint. In 1991 the first redesign and upgrade was done on the $100, $25, $10 and $5, and in 1996 those four were updated again while the $1 was redesigned for the first time; the B series uses secondary colours to highlight the design details of each note and added improved security features. In August 1998 the Authority introduced the C series, an updated version of the B notes that reflects the change of issuing authority and of the law under which the notes are issued. The first C denominations were the $10, $5 and $1, the $100 and $25 followed in August 1999, and a C series $50 arrived in 2001 and was later replaced by the 2003 $50.

The signatures move with the letters. Notes issued before 2003 bear the signature of the Chairman of the Board only, notes issued between 2003 and 2009 have the signatures of the Financial Secretary and the Managing Director of the Authority, and current notes carry the Minister of Finance and the Managing Director at the time of issue. Pair the prefix with the signature and you can date a Cayman note within a few years without a catalog, which is the sort of shortcut our guide to banknote serial numbers covers in general terms.

Cayman Islands banknote series at a glance

The table sets the four lettered series and the commemorative issues side by side, using the Authority's own labels and dates.

Series data from the Authority's circulating banknotes and currency history pages, its press notice of 20 February 2023 on the anniversary notes (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority), and the price guide for the catalog headings.

What is on the current Cayman Islands banknotes?

Six denominations circulate: $100, $50, $25, $10, $5 and $1. Every note measures 156 by 66 mm, carries a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse together with the Cayman Islands coat of arms and motto, and has a security thread, a watermark and serial numbers. The international copyright symbol appears on the front and the back. The Authority states that all Cayman Islands banknotes have been printed by De La Rue currency note printers in England, while the coins are minted by the British Royal Mint (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, currency FAQs).

The D series gave each denomination its own natural subject. The family of six was introduced on 4 April 2011, printed by De La Rue, with angel fish and the Bluff on Cayman Brac on the violet, sea blue and orange $1; hawksbill turtles and Cayman parrots on the green $5; land crabs and wild banana orchid flowers on the red, violet and dark grey $10; scallop shells on the dark brown and orange $25; stingrays on the purple $50; and Cayman schooners with the George Town financial centre on the orange, brown and red $100. The $25 and the $50 add a holographic stripe, and every note is watermarked with a turtle (BanknoteNews).

The Authority has published its intention to change all of that. In a notice dated 30 January 2023 it said the currency then in circulation would be phased out and replaced with a new design featuring an effigy of His Majesty King Charles III, that it was working with the Cayman Islands Government on a complete redesign, that the process was expected to be completed in 2024, and that it would take the opportunity to upgrade the banknote paper to polymer, which is more durable and cost effective. It also ran a public survey on which theme the islands wanted (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, 30 January 2023). Read in September 2026, the Authority's circulating banknotes page still states that the obverse of all notes carries a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, so the change had not yet reached the paper. Our polymer versus paper banknotes page explains what that substrate change would mean, and the history of De La Rue covers the printer.

Why is there a Cayman Islands 40 dollar note?

Because the Currency Board tried a denomination almost nobody else has. The $40 arrived in 1981 alongside the $100, and it is catalogued as Pick 9a, dated 1974 with a circulation date of 1981. The front carries Queen Elizabeth II and the back shows the Pirates Week Festival, a crowd on a beach, which makes it one of the few banknotes in the world whose reverse celebrates a pirate carnival.

It did not last. The grading service PMG, which featured the note in September 2023, says the $40 notes were the highest denomination at the time, that they proved unpopular and were discontinued, and that $50 and $100 notes were introduced later (PMG, Featured Note of the Month). The Authority's own history puts the $100 alongside the $40 in 1981 and the $50 in 1985, so the two accounts differ on which note was on top; what both agree on is that the $40 was dropped and the $50 stayed.

What are old Cayman Islands banknotes worth?

The prefix matters more than the date. Catalog values in US dollars below are from the PMG World Paper Money Price Guide, read in September 2026, for the 1974 Currency Law dollar and the 40 dollars, quoted at Very Good 8, Very Fine 20 and Uncirculated 60. Catalog numbers are Pick numbers, explained in our guide to Pick numbers.

Read the table for the shape of the market. An early prefix on the first dollar note costs about twice what a later prefix does in the same grade, a replacement note with a Z/1 prefix costs more again, and the short-lived $40 sits above everything else in the series. That replacement premium is the pattern our page on star notes and replacement notes follows everywhere, and what determines banknote value covers the rest. Catalog values are a reference point, not a quote.

How do you start collecting Cayman Islands banknotes?

Pick one series and finish it before you move on. Cayman is a compact country field: four lettered series, seven denominations across the whole run, one printer and one monarch, which means a determined collector can actually complete something rather than accumulate fragments.

Three routes work well. The D series is the easy one: six denominations from a single 2011 redesign, still findable in uncirculated condition, and the signature and date changes within the D prefix give you a second dimension if you want it. The Currency Board era is the historical lane, and the honest advice there is to buy one clean early prefix rather than three tired ones. The commemoratives make a small set on their own: the 2003 dollar for the 1503 sighting, the 2018 dollar for the constitution anniversary, and the 2023 $25 and $50 with the Authority's anniversary foil patch.

Learn the grading ladder before you spend. 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, replacements and specimens, how to store banknotes matters in a humid climate, and banknote security features explains the holographic stripe and thread you will be checking. Because every Cayman note so far carries a portrait of the same monarch, the field also sits inside the wider theme covered by our Queen Elizabeth II banknotes hub.

Where can you buy Cayman Islands 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.

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, and see third-party certified pieces in the graded banknotes selection. 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.