On 30 January 1968, the House of Representatives unanimously approved the report of the Select Committee of the House, which had been appointed to study and make recommendations on the decimalization of Jamaica's currency. The chief recommendations were that: the currency should be decimalized on the basis of the 10/- unit, the names of the major and minor units should be 'dollar' and 'cent' respectively, the change should take place some time in September/October 1969.
With regard to the design, it was decided that the portrait of the ruling British monarch, which had appeared on the obverse of all coins, would be replaced by the Jamaican coat of arms, with national symbols on the reverse.
The coins, minted by the British Royal Mint, were first put into circulation on 08 September 1969.
By: Alaincoins
