5 Dollars 2000, Bermuda
| in Krause book | Number: 51 |
| Years of issue: | 24.05.2000 |
| Edition: | 2 247 950 |
| Signatures: | Chairman: Cheryl-Ann Lister, Director: Audette Exel |
| Serie: | 2000 - 2007 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 01.01.1988 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 140 х 68 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Tuna fish (Thunnus). It is a genus of ocean-dwelling ray-finned bony fish from the Scombridae (Mackerel) family.
Avers:
The engraving from the official photograph, taken at Buckingham Palace by Terry O'Neill, an English photographer, in 1992.
On the Queen:
King George IV started a practice in the British royal family which continues today: the awarding of family orders. These are diamond-set portraits of the monarch suspended from a silk bow (the color varying by reign), and they are today given to female royal family members of the sovereign's choosing as a personal gift.
Queen Elizabeth was first given her grandfather George V's order, set on pale blue silk.
Followed by her father George VI's, on pink silk, and she wears them both today. (A royal lady can wear all the family orders she has at once.) The orders are positioned on the left shoulder. They are worn for the most formal events, and can usually be seen on the Queen when she's at a tiara event.
In most renditions of this portrait, the Royal Family Order of King George VI is apparent below the left-hand shoulder of Her Majesty, while the uppermost portion of the Royal Family Order of King George V is apparent in only some renditions of the portrait. (Her majesty's Jewel Vault)
The Burmese Ruby Tiara.
Commissioned by the Queen from Garrard in 1973, this tiara includes two of the Queen's wedding presents: rubies from Burma, and diamonds taken from the Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara. It was the only ruby tiara the Queen used until the Oriental Circlet came into her possession following the Queen Mother's death. ("From her Majesty's Jewel vault").
The Ruby and Diamond Swag Demi-Parure.
Another of the modern sets of jewelry owned by the Queen is this demi-parure of a necklace and earrings in rubies and diamonds. The necklace is a diamond swag design set in gold and centered around 2 large rubies. The matching earrings each include a central ruby set in a diamond swirl.
According to Leslie Field in The Queen's Jewels, this set was a gift from Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, who was the Emir of Qatar from 1972-1995. He presented the set during a state visit to Britain in November 1985. They've been in rotation among the Queen's ruby jewels ever since, even making a couple of appearances at the State Opening of Parliament. ( "From her Majesty's Jewel vault")
On the background, at the top, is sea shell Lobatus gigas, commonly known as the queen conch, is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family of true conches, the Strombidae. This species is one of the largest molluscs native to the tropical northwestern Atlantic, from Bermuda to Brazil, reaching up to 35.2 centimeters (13.9 in.) in shell length. L. gigas is closely related to the goliath conch, Lobatus goliath, a species endemic to Brazil, as well as the rooster conch, Lobatus gallus.
The queen conch is herbivorous and lives in seagrass beds, although its exact habitat varies by development stage. The adult animal has a very large, solid and heavy shell, with knob-like spines on the shoulder, a flared thick, outer lip and a characteristic pink-coloured aperture (opening). The flared lip is absent in younger specimens. The external anatomy of the soft parts of L. gigas is similar to that of other snails in its family; it has a long snout, two eyestalks with well-developed eyes, additional sensory tentacles, a strong foot and a corneous, sickle-shaped operculum.
The shell and soft parts of living L. gigas serve as a home to several different kinds of commensal animals, including slipper snails, porcelain crabs and cardinalfish. Its parasites include coccidians. The queen conch is hunted and eaten by several species of large predatory sea snails, and also by starfish, crustaceans and vertebrates (fish, sea turtles and humans). Its shell is sold as a souvenir and used as a decorative object. Historically, Native Americans and indigenous Caribbean peoples used parts of the shell to create various tools.
International trade in queen conch is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) agreement, in which it is listed as Strombus gigas. This species is not endangered in the Caribbean as a whole, but is commercially threatened in numerous areas, largely due to extreme overfishing. 
Centered, at the bottom, is the Bermuda blue angelfish.
The Bermuda blue angelfish, Holacanthus bermudensis, is a species of marine angelfish of the family Pomacanthidae. Holocanthus bermudensis should not be confused with Holocanthus ciliaris, or queen angelfish, despite very similar appearances. They are two separate species.
A Bermuda blue angelfish is blue-brown in color with green hues and bright yellow on the tip of its tail and fins. Their young, however, have a completely different coloration. A young blue angelfish is dark blue with a yellow tail and some yellow on its fins. It also has vertical blue bars on its body. As it ages, the bars fade away and the body color becomes lighter and some browns and greens are added.
The Bermuda blue angelfish can grow up to 18 inches in length. It has a large mouth and comb-like teeth. It is often collected for aquariums. This fish occasionally breeds with the queen angelfish, which is very similar to it. This hybrid is called the Townsend angelfish. An adult blue angelfish can produce a loud thumping sound that warns predators and also startles divers.
Denominations in numerals are in three corners. In words in center.
Revers:
On left side is St.Davids Lighthouse, Bermuda.
To get to St.Davids Lighthouse Bermuda, you need to reach St Davids at the far east of the island. St Davids Lighthouse stands on the highest point on the Eastern tip of the island standing on 208 feet above the sea level. It sends its beam 20 miles over the ocean. It was built on a hill top and not on the coastline to ensure longest visibility. It was built in 1879 mainly to provide signals to the ships so that they didn't come too close to the hidden reefs in the water. It still serves as a beacon for the mariners.
The construction of the lighthouse had an interesting background. In the earlier days, the locals here had a practice of wrongly guiding passing ships during nighttime by using some sort of lights. They lured the ships to come close to underwater reefs trying to get them wrecked. If done, that would become an easy prey for them to loot. St. David's Lighthouse was originally built to stop this practice. And when the lighthouse actually defeated such illegal activities, most of them became good fishermen and even expert sailors.
It took 3 years to build this 55-foot structure and the light was activated in 1879. The original kerosene lamp with an ordinary wick was replaced by a petroleum burner in 1922. Today it also acts as the finishing line for such major yacht races as the Newport Bermuda.
From the balcony at the top, the view is spectacular. There are some 85 odd steps and the climb is relatively easy. You can see the beautiful countryside, Atlantic towards south, Ruth’s Bay to the southwest, and St. George’s to the north. By the way, the movie "The Deep" used this lighthouse in their story.
On right side is the view on St.George's harbour.
St. George's (formally, the Town of St. George, or St. George's Town), located on the island and within the parish of the same names, settled in 1612, was the first permanent English settlement on the islands of Bermuda. It is often described as the third successful English settlement in the Americas, after St. John's, Newfoundland, and Jamestown, Virginia. In fact, although English fisherman had begun setting up seasonal camps in Newfoundland in the 16th Century, they were expressly forbidden from establishing permanent settlements, and the town of St. John's was not established until circa 1620. Jamestown, also, did not exist until 1619. Prior to that, its settlers were obliged to live within James Fort. St. George's, claimed to be the oldest continuously-inhabited English town in the New World, is also suggested to have been the first.
The Coat of arms of Bermuda is in top left corner.
It depicts a red lion holding a shield that has a depiction of a wrecked ship upon it. The red lion is a symbol of England and alludes to Bermuda’s relationship with that country. The wrecked ship is the Sea Venture, the flagship of the Virginia Company. The ship was deliberately driven on to the reefs of Bermuda, by Admiral Sir George Somers, in 1609, to prevent it from foundering in a storm. All aboard survived, resulting in the settlement of the island. The Latin motto under the coat of arms, Quo Fata Ferunt, means “Whither the Fates Carry [Us]”.
Denominations in numerals are in lower left and top right corners. In words in lower right corner.
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