The new series was issued on 5th December and consists of six polymer notes, marking a complete transition to polymer substrate for Barbados.
The new notes were designed and printed by De La Rue on SAFEGUARD®. The banknotes retain familiar landmarks and personalities from the existing series, whilst switching to a vertical orientation and incorporating new themes and polymer specific security features to present a design that is unquestionably Barbadian.
The new notes include the highly reflective ARGENTUM™ feature on the $2, $5 and $10 with a holographic stripe incorporating De La Rue’s SPOTLIGHT™ feature which depicts counter rotating holographic images to secure the $20, $50, and $100 denominations. The integrated transparent windows enable the main security features to be visible from both sides of the note and a unique tactile emboss feature is included to enable visually impaired users to identify each denomination.
The front of the banknotes utilises the Enhanced GEMINI™ feature to depict important national symbols of Barbados and the reverse of the series is brought together by the satellite image of the island of Barbados being printed in part on each banknote to form a complete image across all 6 denominations when the notes are placed together, the outline of which glows when placed under UV light. Watch the video here
The increased durability of polymer substrate means these notes will stay in circulation for longer, with fewer notes needing to be printed, reducing their lifecycle carbon emissions. The non-porous nature of the substrate means the notes will be much more resistant to dirt and moisture than their paper predecessors.
When announcing the new notes, Governor Cleviston Haynes said, “With this transition to polymer, we will be able to offer Barbadians banknotes that are highly secure, with features that are harder to simulate yet easy to authenticate.”
Ruth Euling, Executive Director and Managing Director, Currency said "We were honoured to work with the Central Bank of Barbados to help deliver their new polymer series and this is a very proud moment for De La Rue. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in creating these notes."
For more information please email currency@delarue.com
