100 Dollars XCD Banknote (1998 ‘Gold Foil Device’ Issue) 1998

100 Dollars Dollar (Issued 1998)

In the markets of Basseterre, the harbourside shops of Castries, or the trading floors of Bridgetown’s financial district, a $100 Eastern Caribbean note was the currency of significant transactions — the kind passed across counters for wholesale goods, lodged into bank envelopes after a strong week’s trade, or tucked carefully into the wallets of travellers moving between the island states. Issued in 1998 by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, this high-denomination note circulated across eight member territories sharing the Eastern Caribbean Dollar. Each note would have crossed island borders, changed hands at currency windows and hotel cashiers, and worn the quiet marks of a working economy before eventually being withdrawn from circulation.

On the front, the note is dominated by a formally engraved portrait of Sir Arthur Lewis, identified by the printed caption beneath the image, the celebrated Saint Lucian economist and Nobel Prize laureate whose contributions to development economics shaped post-colonial thinking across the Caribbean and beyond. The portrait is rendered in fine intaglio line engraving, positioned to the left of centre against a lightly shaded background, with Lewis depicted wearing glasses, a dark suit, and a tie, his expression composed and authoritative. The denomination “$100” appears in bold numerals in the upper left and upper right corners, printed in dark ink against the pale ground, with a colour-coded bar of dark red and teal running along the very top edge of the note. The words “ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS” are set in large, prominent lettering along the lower portion of the front face, with “EASTERN CARIBBEAN” printed in equally bold type to the right, and “CENTRAL BANK” completing the issuing authority’s name below. The text “DE LA RUE” appears in small print at the lower centre, identifying the security printer. To the right of the portrait, a detailed vignette depicts the E.C.C.B. Central Bank Building, a low-rise modern structure rendered in fine engraving, situated beside a shoreline. Above and to the right of the building, a frigate bird — a species emblematic of the Caribbean region — is shown in flight with wings outstretched, its form engraved with careful attention to feather detail. Alongside the bird, a map of the Eastern Caribbean island chain is printed, with the names of member territories — Anguilla, St. Christopher and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada — individually labelled in small serif type. To the far right edge of the note, a tropical fish and what appears to be coral or shell ornamentation form a decorative border element, printed in warm orange and brown tones. The overall colour palette of the front face moves through pale cream and light grey in the background guilloché patterns, with russet, teal, and dark olive providing the primary colour accents across the vignettes and denomination text. A gold foil device — the identifying security feature of this 1998 issue — is present on the note, providing a reflective, light-shifting element consistent with late-1990s high-denomination security printing. Fine guillochéd latticework fills the background field, providing depth and anti-counterfeiting complexity across the entire face.

The reverse of the note continues the regional and natural theme established on the front, with engraved and printed imagery presented against a background of intricate guilloché patterning in complementary tones. The denomination “$100” is repeated clearly to confirm face value, and the design incorporates further references to the natural and institutional character of the Eastern Caribbean member states. The paper itself carries a watermark visible when held to light, consistent with the De La Rue security paper standard used for this series, providing an additional layer of authentication alongside the gold foil device introduced with this 1998 issue.

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