Description and research notes
This twenty five dollars specimen of the Cayman Islands Currency Board belongs to the 1974 design series authorized under the Cayman Islands Currency Law of 1974 and produced by Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited as controlled reference material. It preserves the complete engraved design of the denomination while being permanently invalidated for non-monetary use.
The specimen format follows the established De La Rue layered control protocol typical of the 1974 Cayman series. A bold diagonal SPECIMEN overprint in red spans the face, accompanied by two red oval control stamps reading “SPECIMEN / DE LA RUE & CO LTD / NO VALUE.” A single punch cancellation is present in the signature area, physically voiding the note while leaving all engraved elements fully legible. No printer annotations are present on this example.
The specimen carries the all-zero serial format with prefix A/1 and internal control number 025, confirmed by the printed tracking panel “SPECIMEN No. 025” at the lower margin. This numbering structure belongs to De La Rue’s specimen accounting system and does not correspond to circulation sequencing.
On the obverse, Queen Elizabeth the Second appears at right in finely executed intaglio engraving, balanced by the Cayman Islands coat of arms integrated into the central denomination cartouche reading Twenty Five Dollars. Beneath the central panel appears the engraved signature of V. G. Johnson, serving as Chairman of the Cayman Islands Currency Board during the 1974 administrative phase of the series.
The reverse presents the marine-themed vignette distinctive to the twenty five dollars denomination, framed by structured ornamental panels and disciplined line geometry characteristic of late twentieth century De La Rue security engraving. Layered line density, controlled negative space, and border symmetry reflect the conservative visual language employed across British overseas territory issues of the period.
As a specimen, this note functions as documentary material rather than currency. It records the finalized twenty five dollars design together with the exact invalidation tools used by Thomas De La Rue to differentiate archival reference impressions from live monetary production within the 1974 Cayman Islands series.