Bermuda Paper Money Collection

Bermuda Notes

[ Last Update: Tuesday, 04-May-2010 12:44:38 EDT ]

Bermuda Monetary Authority 2 Dollar Note, 01 January 2009 Hybrid Polymer Note — A hybrid bank note uses paper (cotton) substrate and plastic substrate as its integral, interwoven, and inseparable building components Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II at lower left, bluebird and flowers at center, butterflies and sailboats at top Reverse: Compass rose, dockyard clock tower, statue of Neptune, Optiks® security thread Watermark: Hibiscus flower and electrotype sailboat Size: 140 x 69 mm On 20 February 2009, the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) celebrated 40 years of service, and the island of Bermuda celebrated the 400th anniversary of its settlement by British explorer Sir George Somers. The BMA is marking these landmark occasions by launching the first complete redesign of Bermuda's banknotes since the Bermuda dollar was issued in 1969. Planning for this launch commenced in 2005, and the BMA received the permission and support of the minister of finance and the cabinet for this new design in the summer of 2007. The objectives of the launch are to update the design of the Bermuda note family, the basic design of which has been in place since 1969; to provide a distinct Bermuda design, and clearly distinguish the note family from the designs of other countries; to provide a sense of national pride and easy identification with the features by the Bermudian public; to combat counterfeiting by increasing the security features; and to issue notes that are durable in the island's tropical climate. The new banknotes were unveiled on November 24, 2008, and were introduced on March 9, 2009. Bermuda $2 Named 2010 Bank Note of Year by Bank Note Reporter 03 May 2010 The International Bank Note Society has chosen Bermuda's $2 note, issued as part of an entirely new series in 2009, as the 2010 Bank Note of the Year. Each year the IBNS recognizes an exceptional bank note issued in the previous year. The award-winning note portrays the Bermuda Bluebird (Sialia sialis) on the front and the Dockyard Clock Tower and Statue of Neptune on the back. As with all notes in the new Bermuda series, the head of Queen Elizabeth II appears in a reduced format on the front of the note, the portrait being a mirror of the Machin Head design which appears on the postage stamps of the Royal Mail. According to an IBNS press release, "the members of the IBNS Board...considered the Bermuda $2 note an example of the most attractive elements which create interest among the ever-widening community of bank note collectors and those who take an interest in the development of paper money." One of the factors recommending the note to the judges was an interesting array of security features, despite its low face value. These include an Optiks™ embedded metallic thread, with an aperture on the front depicting the island; a Hibiscus watermark on the top section on the front; the Cornerstone™—a watermark feature on the four corners of the note enhancing the durability of the banknote; and, on the back, the Gemini™ feature portraying a compass which fluoresces in two colors under UV light. Manufactured by De La Rue and released as part of a new series by the Bermuda Monetary Authority in February 2009, the series was the first major re-design of Bermudian bank notes for 40 years. The object of the series was to present depictions of Bermuda, with the series reflecting the natural beauty of the flora and fauna of the island on one side and the island's architectural heritage on the other.