The Cayman Islands dollar (KYD) was introduced in the early 1970s when the Cayman Islands Currency Board replaced circulating Jamaican and sterling-area paper with a distinct national issue. The CI dollar has maintained a stable peg to the U.S. dollar (KYD 1 = USD 1.20), reflecting the territory’s role as a regional financial centre and its deep links to the U.S. economy. In 1997 the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) assumed responsibility for issuance and regulation, continuing a design language that balances constitutional symbolism with tourism and marine heritage.
Security printing has been led chiefly by Thomas De La Rue, whose work combined classic British engraving with bright Caribbean palettes, complex guilloche, microtext, and optically variable devices. Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II anchor earlier series, while banknotes frequently feature the turtle watermark, reef life, and coastal vistas—motifs that reinforce national identity and public recognition. Modern releases (including 2010s reprints and later updates) enhanced counterfeit resistance without losing continuity across denominations. Specimens and proofs document plate states, prefix conventions, and printer controls; they also preserve designs that may have seen limited production. Use the filters above to pivot by type or year; the cards below highlight representative issues rather than repeating individual descriptions, connecting CIMA’s current notes back to their Currency Board origins and to De La Rue’s long technical stewardship.
Issued one-dollar note from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, dated 2018 and printed by Thomas De La Rue (TDLR). Read more →
Graded PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated, this example demonstrates the continued refinement of modern polymer-compatible paper printing and De La Rue’s precision in tropical climate adaptation. For collectors, the D/7 prefix represents the stabilized phase of the 2018 issue sequence following the early unlisted runs. Read more →
This proof carries no serial numbers, signatures, legal text, or circulation elements. Its format and finish confirm that it was never intended for monetary use, serving instead as internal reference material associated with currency design preparation. The absence of any complementary printed surface is consistent with its function as a single-sided design proof rather than as part of a completed banknote. Read more →
This issued one dollar note of the Cayman Islands Currency Board belongs to the long-running series authorized under the Cayman Islands Currency Law of 1974, a framework that formalized the islands’ modern paper currency system while maintaining the Currency Board model of disciplined issuance. Although the note is dated 1974 in the series structure, the PMG label attribution indicates the later printing date as not dated 1985, reflecting a practice common to currency board emissions: a stable design and legal base date, paired with later printings as replacement and demand required during successive administrative terms. Read more →
The turtle watermark, explicitly recorded on the PMG label, serves as a primary security feature and a nationally resonant symbol suited to Cayman’s maritime character. Combined with serial control, engraved line density, and De La Rue’s consistent production standards, the watermark reflects a mature security printing system designed for heavy everyday circulation. Read more →
Certified PMG 65 Exceptional Paper Quality, this specimen preserves strong paper integrity and crisp printing. Its significance lies in documenting the classic De La Rue specimen presentation format used for Cayman Islands Currency Board notes during the Johnson-signed phase of the 1974 one dollar series, prior to the adoption of later specimen control and archival invalidation methods. Read more →
The defining feature of this specimen is a large dot-matrix perforation reading “SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE” applied across the face of the note. This form of invalidation represents a permanent and irreversible cancellation method, distinct from inked overprints or control stamps. Perforated specimen invalidation was used by De La Rue as a final archival control state, ensuring that the note could not re-enter monetary circulation while remaining fully legible as a reference document. Read more →
This specimen note represents the one dollar denomination prepared for the Cayman Islands Currency Board under the Cayman Islands Currency Law of 1974 and was printed by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited, with the PMG label attributing the production to a not dated 1985 printing. It was produced as a controlled reference specimen and permanently invalidated through a combination of overprint, printer-applied control stamps, and physical cancellation. Read more →
The serial format consists of an all-zero number sequence with prefix A/3, reserved exclusively for specimen handling and never used on issued notes. This serial structure, combined with the perforated invalidation, clearly situates the note within the final control phase of the Currency Board’s specimen management process. Read more →
The reverse continues the series’ marine-themed design language, featuring a reef vignette composed of coral formations and a prominent fish. Extensive organic linework provides both aesthetic depth and practical anti-counterfeiting complexity, mirroring the issued series while remaining clearly segregated as non-monetary through overprint and serial control alone. Read more →
This five dollar specimen of the Cayman Islands Currency Board belongs to the 1974 design series prepared under the Cayman Islands Currency Law of 1974 and produced by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited as controlled reference material. It was never intended to function as money. Instead, it documents the fully finalized face and reverse designs of the denomination in a deliberately invalidated form suitable for institutional distribution and printer archive control. Read more →
This example must be catalogued separately from its parallel A1 counterpart because its archival control notation differs. In the upper right margin the printer job notation reads “467/1–A2.” Along the lower margin the inscription reads “C.T. Wood 12.10.89 see notes on order form.” Within printer-archive material, such suffix differences are not minor: they represent distinct internal states, filing or review designations, and handling history. In a field where the engraved design is intentionally stable, these notations become the primary fingerprints of the object. Read more →