## From Corals to Cricket

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [From Corals to Cricket](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2024/12/currency-notes-from-corals-to-cricket-salsa-mazlan)

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: SALSA MAZLAN
- Published: December 3, 2024

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### Overview
- The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s (ECCB’s) new $2 commemorative banknote celebrates the currency union’s marine life and sporting legends.
- The ECCB commissioned the note to mark its 40th anniversary in 2023.
- The note is the ECCB’s first that does not feature the British monarch; the monarch remains head of state in all but one of the six nations and two overseas territories that use the East Caribbean dollar.

### Design and security features
- Artwork depicts sea turtles, brightly colored tropical fish, conch shells, and coral reefs alongside a portrayal of Sir Viv Richards playing a shot.
- Security and design features combine to form a single scene showing hawksbill turtles and damselfish in a complex polymer window that spotlights the biodiversity of the archipelago’s reefs.
- The ECCB worked with British company De La Rue, the world’s largest commercial printer of banknotes, on the commemorative bill.

### Awards and recognition
- The East Caribbean note won the International Bank Note Society 2023 Bank Note of the Year prize, selected from nearly 100 other candidates.
- It was named best commemorative banknote by the International Association of Currency Affairs.
- The note received a third award from High Security Printing Latin America.

### Cultural and regional significance
- The design aims to showcase the currency union’s exciting future, according to Camillo Gonsalves, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ finance minister.
- At the launch in Antigua and Barbuda, ECCB governor Timothy Antoine said he hoped the new banknote would inspire people across the region to similar feats of fearlessness.

### Notable figures and cricket highlights
- The banknote features Antiguan cricketer Sir Viv Richards, popularly known as the “Master Blaster.”
- Career highlights cited:
  - Helped the West Indies to victory against Australia in the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
  - Achieved a similar World Cup victory against England four years later.
  - Served as West Indies captain from 1984 to 1991.
  - Led the West Indies in 50 test matches.
  - Played a 17-year career without a helmet and remains the team’s only captain who never lost a series.

*From Corals to Cricket — SALSA MAZLAN, F&D Magazine, December 2024.*

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## Content in this bundle

- **From Corals to Cricket**
  - [From Corals to Cricket (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2024/12/currency-notes.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2024/12/currency-notes-from-corals-to-cricket-salsa-mazlan_