Saint Lucia livre

The livre was the currency of Saint Lucia until 1814. The currency consisted of various cut Spanish and Spanish colonial coins. The livre was subdivided into 20 sous, each of 12 deniers. The escalin was worth 15 sous, with the stampee worth 3 sous 9 denier (¼ escalin). Until 1813, 12 escalins were equal to 8 reales (the Spanish dollar), after which 15 escalins equaled 8 reales. In 1851, sterling was introduced for circulation.

Since the late 19th century, dollars have circulated on Saint Lucia, first the Saint Lucia dollar, then the British West Indies dollar, and currently the East Caribbean dollar.

Coins

In 1798, coins were issued for 2, 3, 4 and 6 escalins. These were made from sixths, quarters, thirds and halves of 8 reales coins, on to which the letters "SL" were counterstamped.

The 1811 issue consisted of 3 stampee, 1, 1½ and 2 escalins coins. The first two were made from quarters and thirds of 2 reales coins, whilst the higher two denominations were made from quarters and thirds of 4 reales coins. The 3 stampees was counterstamped with a crenelated circle, whilst the 1, 1½ and 2 escalins were counterstamped with one, two and three circles, respectively.

The final issue, from 1813, consisted of 3 and 9 escalins. These coins were produced by cutting 8 reales coins in to three parts, with the two outer parts, each consisting of one fifth of the coin, making the 3 escalins and the central part, consisting three-fifths, making the 9 escalins. They were all counterstamped with "S:Lucie".

References

• Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.