HISTORY OF NOTES & COINS IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
"Prior to the establishment of the first commercial bank in Trinidad & Tobago in 1837, all necessary banking transactions were conducted in Britain. During this period the structure and pattern of production and trade as developed in the Metropolitan System (The United Kingdom, dependencies and colonies) gave rise to a system of payments in which all settlements were made in the United Kingdom.
Trinidad & Tobago developed a substantial quantum of trade with Spanish America mainly due to its geographical location and its past colonial ties and this led to the introduction of Spanish and Portuguese coins in the islands with the silver "pieces of eight" being the dominant currency. It was not until 1825 that the United Kingdom introduced her own coins as legal tender.
In keeping with its mandate to manage a unified decimal system of currency for all British colonies of the Eastern Caribbean (Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Monsterrat, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent, and Trinidad & Tobago) as well as mainland British Guiana, the BCCB issued its first currency notes on August 15, 1951 but the first issue of coins took place four years later on November 15, 1955. The British Caribbean Board had "the sole right, power and authority to provide, issue and re-issue currency notes" in the Eastern Caribbean area.
Circulating alongside the BCCB notes, then, were Trinidad & Tobago Government notes as well as the currency notes issued by three commercial banks (Barclays Bank, D.C.O., the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Royal Bank of Canada), until these four latter notes were demonetized on January 2, 1955. Also arrangements were made for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom silver and bronze coins which had been in continuous circulation since 1838. They were demonetized on November 1, 1969, having been gradually replaced by BCCB coins from November 1955.
Trinidad & Tobago became independent in 1962 and as such became solely responsible for its economic development and other national objectives. Thus, the existing central monetary authority, the British Caribbean Currency Board, could not provide the government with the monetary instruments necessary to implement the economic policies being undertaken since it was not structured to serve an independent country."

COINS
"Trinidad and Tobago coins currently in circulation are minted in denominations of 1c, 5c, 10c, 25c, and 50c. The Trinidad and Tobago Coat of Arms appears on the front of each coin, while a national bird or flower is portrayed on the reverse (back) of the coins."

NOTES
"There are five denominations currency notes: $1, $5, $10, $20 and $100.
Two sets of notes are currently in circulation:
i. those issued in 1985; and
ii. new notes incorporating upgraded security features issued in 2002
($5 and $20) and in 2003 ($1, $10 and $100 denominations).
Both sets of notes are legal tender."

View Trinidad & Tobago Currency

Sources: Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, www.worldpapermoney.org/trinidad_tobago.htm