1 Pound - Elizabeth II Latin motto below arms

Jamaica's first domestic banknote issue came not at independence — which arrived in August 1962 — but a year earlier, when the Bank of Jamaica was established under the Bank of Jamaica Law of 1960. This 1 Pound note was part of that inaugural series, issued while Jamaica was still a British colony in its final months, replacing the Currency Board system that had served the British Caribbean territories collectively since 1951.

The Latin motto beneath the arms — "Indus Uterque Serviet Uni" — was already becoming an embarrassment to Jamaican nationalists by the time these notes circulated. It translates roughly as "Both Indies shall serve one," a colonial formulation that would be dropped entirely after independence.