Solomon Islands: Coins Issued and Used

The Solomon Islands Dollar is the currency of Solomon Islands since 1977. Its symbol is "$", with "SI$" used to differentiate it from other currencies also using the dollar sign. It is subdivided into 100 cents.

The Solomon Islands Dollar was introduced in 1977, replacing the Australian dollar at par, preceding independence (which came on 7 July 1978). Until 1979, the two dollars remained equal, then for five months the SI$ was pegged at SI$1.05 = A$1, and later floated.

In 1977, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cents and 1 dollar. The cent coins were all the same sizes, weights, and compositions as the corresponding Australian coins, with the 1 dollar an equilaterally curved seven-sided coin minted in cupro-nickel. The reverse of each of the six original coins depicts the image of an item or symbol important to native culture, with the most notable being the 10 cent piece depicting Ngoreru, a local sea god from the Temoto region. In 1985 bronze-plated steel replaced bronze in the 1 and 2 cents, with nickel-clad steel replacing cupro-nickel in the 20 cents in 1989, and the 5 and 10 cents in 1990. 1988 saw the introduction of 50-cent coins, which were dodecagonal (twelve-sided) and minted in cupro-nickel. The 1988 50-cent was a commemorative piece celebrating the tenth anniversary of independence. Later issues simply depict the national crest. The 50-cent and 1 dollar went to nickel-clad steel in 2008. With a high national inflation rate, the low-value 1 and 2-cent coins fell out of use, with prices rounded off to the nearest 5 cents instead.

In 2012 new, smaller coins were introduced in denominations 10, 20, and 50 cents in nickel-plated steel and brass 1, and 2 dollar coins. The minting of the older coins had become too costly, with most of them being more expensive to produce than they were worth. Like the previous issue, these coins were minted by the Royal Australian Mint. The 2 dollar coin replaced the banknote while the 1, 2, and 5 cent coins were discontinued for having face value too low for production or practical use. Most notably, the 1 and 2 dollar coins have a close similarity to the 1 and 2 dollar coins of Australia being of nearly the same thickness, colour, and circumference. The interrupted reeding on the edges are also identical to that of their Australian counterparts, however the metallurgical compositions and weights are slightly different and respective denominations are on the opposite sizes.