Jamaica’s first currency – The Copper Maravedi

Following the rise of complex civilisations, people have needed to exchange goods, services, and other resources with each other. One of the first methods of exchanging goods was the barter system.

A significant drawback of this system was that it relied on a “double coincidence of wants,” where both parties had something the other wanted and were willing to trade. A second drawback was valuing the goods or services to ensure equal trade. These drawbacks led to the transition to the standardisation of different currencies as a medium of exchange. Money solved the problem of “double coincidence of wants” since it could be used as a universal medium of exchange, which all parties would want, making it easier to acquire goods and services. Most currencies are also more durable and portable, making them easier to store for later use or transport to other locations, increasing the number of possible trading partners and transactions.

These concepts remained true before the Spanish began colonising the Caribbean. Before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1494, there was little use for a standard currency in Jamaica. Even though they possessed small amounts of precious metals, the Taínos, Jamaica’s last Indigenous culture, primarily used them as decorations rather than trade, instead relying on the barter system.

It was not until the Spanish began to actively settle the island in 1509 that the first standardised currency was introduced. The Spanish Copper Maravedi was the main currency circulating in Jamaica during the early years of colonisation. After claiming the Americas, these lightweight copper coins were first struck in Seville, Spain, in 1505 specifically to be circulated in the New World colonies, making them the first known coinage widely used in the Americas. Their values varied depending on their supply and the symbols stamped into them at the mint. By 1542, coin production began in Santa Domingo, Hispaniola (modern-day Dominican Republic), to provide the Caribbean colonies with a steady supply of coinage.

Over the years, the Spanish colonies faced several financial strains and monetary crises. The coin slowly devalued, and in 1577, four-maravedi coins were recalled and counterstamped with a key symbol, devaluing them to two maravedis. Records of when copper maravedis were removed from circulation are unclear. Still, the coins slowly continued to devalue until they were entirely replaced by the Spanish silver dollar, also known as pieces of eight, in the 17th century.

Since then, there have been various changes in the currencies being traded and circulated within Jamaica, all with fluctuating values. The last change came in 1968, when the House of Representatives unanimously approved changing the country’s currency to the dollar decimal system as the Select Committee of the House recommended. The first Jamaican Dollar was sent into circulation on September 8, 1969, and has been the country’s official currency ever since. The four- Maravedi coin and all of Jamaica’s past and present currencies are at the National Museum Jamaica/Institute of Jamaica alongside other currencies traded in Jamaica and the wider world.

Compiled by Romaine Thomas, assistant curator at the National Museum Jamaica, Institute of Jamaica.