The $1 and $5 coins will soon be out of circulation, Bank of Guyana Governor, Dr Gobind Ganga announced during a press conference shared with Finance Minister Winston Jordan on Monday.
According to Ganga, the $1 and $5 coins have run their course, having been in circulation for a number of years. He highlighted that there is a high possibility of the $1 coin being eliminated altogether since “there is no more need for it”. With regard to the $5 coin being eliminated, Ganga said that this will have to be a carefully analysed decision since the public was yet to become fully knowledgeable about the decimal system.
However, there was no date specified for the discontinuation of these coins.
“We are currently looking at the feasibility of eliminating the $1 which obviously has lived its life already. There is no more need for that. We are looking at the $5, but we have to be very careful because we do have the decimal system that people have to be educated about. In terms of when you try to go to the nearest dollar. The structure of the coins is being looked at,” the Governor of Bank of Guyana said.
Due to high inflation in 1996, the $1, $5, and $10 coins were introduced. The $1 and $5 coins are struck in copper-plated steel, whilst the $10 is struck in nickel-plated steel and has an equilateral-curved heptagonal shape.
