Jamaican Dollar

The Jamaican dollar (JMD) is the national currency of Jamaica. The exchange rate between the Jamaican dollar and the US dollar is approximately 85JMD: 1USD.

Jamaican coins currently in circulation are of 1c, 10, 25c, $1, $5, $10, and $20 denominations. All Jamaican coins except for the 1 cent coin features portrait of Jamaica’s heroes. The one cent coin features the ackee, the national tree of Jamaica and is 12-sided. The 10 cent coin shows Paul Bogle. The 25 cent coin and the 20 dollar coin both shows Marcus Garvey, but the latter is slightly bigger and is bimetallic.

The 1 dollar coin features Sir Alexander Bustamante and is 7-lobed, unlike all the round coins in Jamaica’s circulation. The five dollar coin portrays Norman Manley. The 10 dollar coin has a portrait of George of William Gordon.

The coat of arms appears on the other sides of all Jamaican coins. It was designed by William Sandcroft, the Archbishop of Canterbury back then. It is represented by a male and female Taino Indian on the sides of a shield bearing five pineapples on a red cross.

The banknotes of the Jamaican dollar are issued in 50, 100, 500 and 1000 denominations. The 50 dollar note features the national hero of Jamaica on the front: Samuel Sharpe, the leader of the slave rebellion in 1831. The reverse side of the 50 dollar note shows Montego Bay where Samuel Sharpe was hanged after the start of the slave rebellion.

The 100 dollar note shows a portrait of Sir Donald Sangster, Minister of France in 1953. Following Jamaica’s independence in 1962, he was once again named Minister. The Dunn’s River Falls, a popular tourist attraction, appears on the reverse side of the 100 dollar note.

The 500 dollar note shows the Rt. Excellent Nanny of the Maroons, a lone female national hero in Jamaica’s history. She was a military leader of the Maroons in the 18th century. The back side of the 500 dollar note shows an old map of Jamaica showing Port Royal: a safe place for pirates and slaves. It was then known as the ‘wickedest city in the world’.

The 1000 dollar note features Michael Norman Manley, a prime minister of Jamaica. The 5000 dollar note portrays Hugh Lawson Shearer, prime minister of Jamaica from 1967 to 1972.

Jamaican Dollar