_{Photo: (l-r) Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price and Phillip Goldson}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Sept. 30, 2024

It has been confirmed that the faces of Belize’s national heroes, the Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price and Hon. Philip Goldson, will be printed on the country’s paper bills and are set to be released to the public in 2025.

A press release distributed by the Central Bank of Belize echoed that the new bills will feature those national heroes, “This new family of notes will tell unique stories of our country’s rich heritage and will incorporate enhanced security features to combat counterfeiting.”

On a politically affiliated morning show in July of last year, the first talks of implementing this change were made public when the question was raised in discussion as to whether Belize should print new bills with the face of King Charles, as Queen Elizabeth II had passed away several months earlier, or follow the trend of other countries by placing the faces of historical national figures on our money.

At the time when the idea was made public, the Prime Minister of Belize, Hon. John Briceño confirmed the idea on the said talk show, highlighting that the bills would soon be printed.

PM Briceño told the media in September that Goldson and Price would be on the bills.

“We’re using the national heroes, both George Price and Philip Goldson. They are the ones that are going to be on the face. So, the new dollars will be introduced later this year or early next year,” he said.

The release from the Central Bank of Belize reassured that the change won’t affect the value or exchange rate of Belize dollars.

The last time the bills were altered was in 1983 when they featured an image of Queen Elizabeth the Second, and also bore images of Belize’s birds, animals, marine life, and historic buildings.