More Caribbean Countries Eye the U.S. Dollar as Legal Tender

Pop Quiz: How many Netherlands Antilles guilder can you get for one U.S. dollar? Currency conversion: the traveler's bane since Alexander the Great traipsed across the known world. Well, if you're headed to a growing number of Caribbean destinations, you may soon be able to leave your calculator at home. Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Martin are the latest countries to consider abandoning their own currencies in favor of the U.S. dollar. Writing for World Coin News, Richard Giedroyc examines the growing "dollarization" of the Caribbean (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba have already decided to adopt the dollar, beginning Jan. 1, 2011). His conclusion: The outlook may be increasingly grim for coin collectors, but it's getting brighter for American travelers. At the moment, there are 15 or so currencies changing hands in the Caribbean, everything from the East Caribbean and Jamaican dollars to the Honduran lempira and the Haitian gourde (although countless hotels, restaurant and shops in the region will happily take your greenbacks in lieu of local money). It may not be too long before George Washington is the last man standing in the Caribbean.

Answer: $1 = 1.79 Netherlands Antilles guilder

More Caribbean Countries Eye the U.S. Dollar as Legal Tender