By William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 4, 2025
Belize has removed the likeness of the English monarch, Queen Elizabeth II from the country’s currency notes, and eliminated the need to print new notes with the image of her successor, King Charles III, by introducing new notes featuring images of the Father of the Nation, George Cadle Price; and our national hero, Philip Stanley Wilberforce Goldson.
When the notes were launched at the Belize City Civic Center on January 23, Central Bank governor, Kareem Michael explained that the currency retains its same value, backed up by Central Bank’s foreign exchange reserves; and the exchange rate will remain the same against foreign currencies, pegged at a rate of 2 Belize dollars to one United States dollar. The new notes entered circulation on Monday, August 4.
Price’s likeness appears on the $100, $20, and $5.00 notes; while Goldson’s likeness adorns the $50, $10 and $2.00 notes. De La Rue International Ltd. produced the new banknotes, which incorporate several new security features that make it impossible to make convincing counterfeit copies of them. A metallic ribbon is embedded in the paper of the new notes, which also have a see-through window that corresponds to a matching image when the note is folded in half.
A holographic strip on the face of the note features different national symbols for each denomination—with the national bird (the toucan), the national flower (the black orchid), and the Mayan mask at Lamanai incorporated into the higher value notes—$10, $20, $50 and $100.   The color of the holograph changes constantly with each angle from which the note is viewed, which is impossible for counterfeiters to replicate. Renowned Belizean landscapes adorn the reverse side of each note.
Savvy citizens can check for these security features to verify that a note is genuine currency and not a fake. The value of the note is also embedded in the paper itself as a watermark, which can be viewed under ultraviolet light.
The old currency notes will continue to have the same value, as they are gradually removed from circulation, and replaced with the new notes.
