[2] Proposals for establishing banks in the West Indies, targeted at landowners, were made in 1661 by the British government, and in 1690 by Sir Thomas Dalby.

[3] Despite this, and Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704 that brought the pound sterling currency system to the West Indies, silver pieces of eight (Spanish dollars and later Mexican dollars) continued to form a major portion of the circulating currency right into the latter half of the nineteenth century.

[4] The Colonial Bank was established on 1 June 1836,[5] and opened its first branch in Trinidad in 1837 under the management of Anthony Cumming.

[7] The bank therefore lobbied the government, seeking permission to issue money in other currencies.

The currency of the union was replaced by the modern Trinidad and Tobago dollar in 1964,[16] two years after the nation's independence in 1962.

After VAT was introduced in 1989, the dollar was switched from a fixed rate to a managed float regime on Easter Weekend, 1993.

[20] In the nineteenth century, the British gold sovereign was valued at four Spanish silver dollars and eighty cents.

This Royal Bank of Canada note reflects this state of affairs with its overt mention of the fact that one hundred dollars is equal to twenty pounds, sixteen shillings, and eight pence sterling.

This state of affairs was exclusively confined to the Eastern Caribbean region, possibly due to the geographical proximity to British Guiana.

British Guiana had a reason to wish to retain the dollar unit owing to its recent changeover from Dutch currency.

These factors did not affect Jamaica, Bermuda, or the Bahamas which adopted the sterling currency in both coinage and as the unit of account.

The Royal Bank of Canada one hundred dollar note, shown here; is a relic of a monetary system, in which the unit of account was related to the circulating coinage on the basis of two historical coins which were no longer in use.

The reverses of the current notes feature the Central Bank Building of Trinidad & Tobago.

The obverses have the coat of arms in the center, a national bird and a place in Trinidad, such as a market, petroleum refinery, etc.

Recently, more security features have been added to the notes by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.

On the front of the note is a Red-capped cardinal bird and the commemorative text around the center of the coat of arms.

[29] All banknotes have the coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago on the obverse and an image of the central bank on the reverse.