Circulation of the new CRISP $5 banknote

The Central Bank of The Bahamas is pleased to announce that on December 17, 2007, it released into circulation the fourth denomination in its CRISP (Counterfeit Resistant Integrated Security Product) family of banknotes to continue to upgrade the security of Bahamian banknotes. The CRISP $5 banknote, which follows the CRISP $50, $20 and $10 banknotes, will incorporate similar security features as the earlier CRISP banknotes. In addition, it will bear a denomination specific watermark of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield and the numeral 5 appearing on the left.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas is pleased to announce that on December 17, 2007, it released into circulation the fourth denomination in its CRISP (Counterfeit Resistant Integrated Security Product) family of banknotes to continue to upgrade the security of Bahamian banknotes. The CRISP $5 banknote, which follows the CRISP $50, $20 and $10 banknotes, will incorporate similar security features as the earlier CRISP banknotes.

In addition, it will bear a denomination specific watermark of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield and the numeral 5 appearing on the left.

These new banknotes will circulate alongside the existing $5 banknotes which will eventually be phased out in the usual manner. The importance of this exercise, according to Governor of the Central Bank, Mrs. Wendy Craigg, is to ensure that the security of the banknotes are continuously upgraded by making use of the latest technologies and processes.

As part of its public education initiatives, the Bank has available, and has distributed to banks and other cash handlers, flyers and posters which describe the new security features of the $5 banknote. The objective of the Bank is to ensure that the public is able to distinguish more easily and reliably between genuine banknotes and counterfeits.
To this end, the Central Bank also hosts counterfeit seminars bi-annually. The Bank is pleased with the combination of security and aesthetic features used to create the new banknote which is orange, brown and blue in colour and bears a new portrait of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whifield on the front and junkanooers on the back.

Banking Manager Cecile Sherman added that, “the public can help reduce opportunities for counterfeiters by checking their banknotes for several upgraded security features”:

• more vibrant and lively colours and a new portrait of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield on the right.
• new watermark-this banknote bears a watermark of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield and the numeral 5 (front left)
• a colour shifting windowed thread that changes colour when the banknote is tilted (front center)
• a new see through feature-that shows only a partial image of the sand dollar untilit is held up to a light source when a complete image of the sand dollar appears(front left, back right)