THE demand for $1 coin and $2 coin denominations of the national currency exceeds the other coin denominations.
This was revealed by the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) Currency and Banking Manager Joe Vasuni in a media interview after the launch of the new $1 coin denomination bearing King Charles III’s effigy on Thursday.
He said that the demand for $1 coin and $2 coin denominations exceeds the demand for the other coin denominations.
“It’s good that we have this current stock with the new effigy [of King Charles III] on time to replenish our stock. So, this is reflective of the high value demand for the $1 coins we have in the country as we have witnessed $1 coins have now run out from the vault,” Mr Vasuni said.
Mr Vasuni said for Solomon Islands, the $1 coin denomination is the first be replaced with the effigy of King Charles III and this would be followed by the $2 coin denomination before the other coin denominations like 10 cents, 20 cents and 50 cents and this is based on their demand.
The new $2 coin bearing the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III will be introduced either in 2026 or 2027.
With that, Mr Vasuni encouraged the public to ensure the smooth circulation of these coins in the country.
He said the practice by some businesses and individuals in keeping coins from circulation is a factor contributing to the shortages of coins and their smooth circulation in the country.
“The thing that the public should know is that these physical or legal tender notes and coins are not a property of individuals. They are a property of the Central Bank. It is only their monetary value that is owned by individuals.
“They should be allowed to be transacted or to be passed hand to hand so that they facilitate small business needs for trading of goods and services,” Mr Vasuni said.
Mr Vasuni also stated that people should be encouraged to open a bank account so that all the notes or coins they have in their possession are kept in their bank accounts with the commercial banks.
“Only that way, they will allow the circulation to smoothly continue. Otherwise, we have been witnessing coins and notes not moving, but stay somewhere in people’s pockets or houses,” he added.
Mr Vasuni added that the CBSI has already carried out few surveys to study the circulation of money in the country and found out that that there a lot of notes and coins sitting amongst people somewhere.
“From the few surveys that we have conducted, we can also verify from our statistics that there are two types of circulation.
“There is one that is called active circulation and there is one that is called non-active circulation and we have found out that there is a huge amount of non-active circulation, but I think to give you the actual figure, there are protocols for that,” he added.
By IAN LADDS OSO
Solomon Star, Honiara
