Former Governor Winston Cox Endorses “Both Sides of the Coin”

This history of the Bank’s first four and a half decades lives up to the expectation implied in the title Both Sides of the Coin: The Story of the Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017. It is a balanced account of the Bank’s operations and development told by a careful inside observer who does not shy away from infelicitous moments or gloss over difficulties.

In writing this history of the Central Bank of Barbados Harold Codrington’s first challenge was to avoid writing a memoire which placed him at the centre of events since, as an employee of the Bank, he was intimately involved in the creation of that history. His second challenge was to heed the injunction against writing a hagiographic portrait of the Bank’s policies and programmes for which he could, directly or indirectly, claim some responsibility, or of its employees, many of whom he had worked with very closely might not wish to offend in a society as small as Barbados. His own parting shot notwithstanding as he retired from the Bank, Mr. Codrington successfully overcame both of these challenges as he mined his source materials of official records and contemporary commentaries to present the story of the growth and development of an institution that played a pivotal role in post-independence management of the Barbados economy.

Both Sides of the Coin, which can be enjoyed by the layman and the specialist alike, is an authoritative record of the financial and monetary history of Barbados since 1972. To reach this take-off point the author provided valuable background information on the history of currency in Barbados and on the debate in Parliament that led to the Bank’s creation. This book is therefore not only a useful source for anyone interested in Barbadian numismatics, but it also can be read as a guide to developing an institution. The important lesson from this history of the Bank is that as the policies, regulations and systems of an institution evolve, investment in individuals to equip them with the skills to implement the policies, observe the regulations and manage the systems is vital to the success of the enterprise.