Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of exotic currencies, namely the history of the development and formation of the dollar of the East Caribbean Islands. The object of study in this article is the East Caribbean dollar. The subject of this article is the main historical stages of the cash circulation of the East Caribbean dollar. In this article, the authors highlight and analyze the main historical stages of the functioning of currency: from private bank notes of the British Caribbean territories to the modern stage of currency development, at which the process of transition to digital currency has already begun. The bibliographic base of the article is represented by current research on the topic of work, official data from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, as well as the online resource CBDC Tracker. The research methodology is based on general scientific methods: classification method, analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction (abstract logical method). Also, due to the historical context of the work, historical research methods are additionally used: historical-genetic and narrative methods. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the detailed study and analysis of the main stages in the history of the development of the East Caribbean dollar, namely: the dollar of the British Caribbean Territories (1949-1965), the dollar of the Eastern Caribbean Islands before the founding of a common central bank (1965-1983) and the dollar of Eastern Caribbean Islands today (1983-2023). In conclusion, the authors define the role of the East Caribbean dollar in the economies of the countries that use it and draw a conclusion about the colonial genesis of this currency. It is noted that the first experience of launching a digital version of the East Caribbean dollar was controversial.

Keywords: CBDC, banknotes, cash circulation, East Caribbean dollar, monetary union, digital currencies, British colonies, Eastern Caribbean Islands, currency board, offshore jurisdictions