Tradition and Technology

Source details

Bermuda’s first coins were minted around 1616 and were known as “hogge money.”
The early coins featured a galleon on one side and a hog on the other, referencing free-roaming swine left by Spanish and Portuguese mariners.
The poor-quality early coinage was abandoned after a few years when tobacco became the local currency.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) was created in 1969.
The Bermuda dollar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1972; both currencies circulate interchangeably.

The BMA introduced new $2 and $5 banknotes last year.
Planned future updates will cover $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills.
Design themes continue to highlight Bermuda’s flora, fauna, and landscape, consistent across issuance since the BMA’s creation.
The $5 note depicts a blue marlin, Horseshoe Bay Beach, and Somerset Bridge (a short early 1600s span known as the world’s smallest drawbridge with a wood plank less than a meter wide that can be raised to let sailboat masts pass).
The $2 note depicts a Bermuda bluebird, the Dockyard clock tower, and the statue of Neptune, reflecting Bermuda’s role as a Royal Navy base for centuries.
Both notes show the new head of state, King Charles III, in his first appearance on Bermuda currency.

These are Bermuda’s first notes printed on polymer substrate (a thin plastic that’s easier to keep clean than cotton and is expected to circulate more than twice as long).
Visually impaired users can identify the notes by embossed dots: a triangle on the $2 note and a circle on the $5 bill.

Security details include:
- A reflective tuna with a shadow outlined on the opposite side.
- Another tuna visible when lit from behind.
- A clear window showing clouds and underwater scenes.
- Waves, fish, and the sun that flash gold when notes are tilted.
- Ultraviolet light–revealed hidden elements.
These high-tech security measures build on a long history of banknote design and technology.

Bermuda’s pink $5 bill won the Banknote of the Year award from the International Bank Note Society, which cited its high-tech security measures and “colorful, eye-pleasing design.”
The industry group High Security Printing Latin America named the $2 and $5 best new 2025 notes.

Jeff Kearns and Melinda Weir, F&D Magazine, September 2025.

Tradition and Technology
- Tradition and Technology (Markdown version)
- Tradition and Technology (PDF)