Description and research notes
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. The note was never intended for circulation and instead represents a terminal archival control state retained for record and security reference purposes.
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 perforation constitutes a permanent and irreversible invalidation method, distinct from inked overprints, oval control stamps, or punch cancellations used on other specimen formats. Perforated cancellation of this type was employed by De La Rue to ensure that fully authorized reference material could never be reintroduced into monetary circulation.
The obverse preserves the complete finalized production design of the issued one dollar note, including the engraved portrait of Queen Elizabeth the Second at right and the central denomination panel incorporating the Cayman Islands coat of arms. Beneath the central panel appears the engraved signature of A. Jefferson, serving as Chairman of the Cayman Islands Currency Board at the time this printing was produced. The presence of Jefferson’s signature confirms that the specimen reflects the fully authorized legal form of the currency, notwithstanding its subsequent physical cancellation.
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.
The reverse continues the series’ marine-themed design language, featuring a reef vignette composed of coral formations and a prominent fish. Dense organic linework provides both aesthetic depth and practical anti-counterfeiting complexity, mirroring the issued series while remaining clearly segregated as non-monetary through perforation and serial control.
Certified PMG 64, this specimen documents the perforated archival control format applied to Cayman Islands Currency Board notes during the Jefferson-signed phase of the one dollar series. Its significance lies in preserving direct evidence of late twentieth-century specimen invalidation practice, illustrating how fully authorized designs were deliberately withdrawn from monetary function for institutional recordkeeping.