The official national currency of the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is the Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD). It is divisible by 100 cents, the same as the U.S. dollar (USD). To distinguish the TTD from other dollar-denominated currencies like those of the US, Canada, and Australia, users frequently prefix it with “TT$”.
The Spanish established Trinidad as a colony as soon as Christopher Columbus arrived and personally explored the island in 1498. Several European countries, including the Spanish, the British, the French, and the Dutch, colonized its neighboring island of Tobago. In the end, Trinidad and Tobago were both British possessions from 1802 until 1962, when they gained independence.
They established the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1976, and it still exists today. The silver “pieces of eight” coins that were then widely used in all of the Spanish colonies were the first official money used on the islands. After Spain colonized the islands, they were introduced in the 1500s.
Private banks were in charge of managing the islands’ money throughout the early and middle 1800s. Many different currencies, including those of Britain, Mexico, and Columbia, were in circulation at the time.
The discovery of enormous new silver supplies in the late 1870s resulted in a significant devaluation of silver-backed currencies like the Spanish pieces of eight. As a result, the islands started to use more British money. Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean countries briefly shared a currency after World War II. The new TTD, which is still in use today, took the place of this system in 1964.
In the previous ten years, economic development has largely been flat, with GDP increasing at an average rate of 0.01% between 2009 and 2019. The energy sector now plays a significant role in driving Trinidad and Tobago’s economy. The country exports a significant amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum products, and its energy sector accounts for about 40% of the country’s GDP.
The dollar of Trinidad and Tobago is not pegged like that of many other Caribbean nations; rather, it is allowed to fluctuate freely against other currencies. There are six different notes now in use: red $1, green $5, grey $10, purple $20, olive $50, and blue $100.
Over the previous ten years, the value of the TTD has declined somewhat in relation to the USD, from around 6.15 TTD per USD in 2009 to about 6.8 TTD per USD in 2020. Over the previous ten years, its inflation rate has generally hovered around 6%, despite significantly lower inflation rates in recent years.
If you are interested in more articles like this, here’s one about the Togo currency.
