20 Dollars 2013, Bermuda
in Krause book | Number: 60a |
Years of issue: | 2013 |
Edition: | -- |
Signatures: | Chairman: Mr. Alan C. Cossar, Director: Mr. L.. Anthony Joaquin |
Serie: | 400 years of discovery of Bermuda |
Specimen of: | 01.01.2009 |
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:
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and a boat under sail. Cornerstones at all corners.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as rose mallow, Chinese hibiscus, China rose and shoe flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to East Asia. By Bermuda guests mistakenly counted as endemic.
Avers:
On the background, across whole field of the banknote, are the national flower of Bermuda - Sisyrinchium bermudianum (Bermuda Blue Eyed Grass).
Dainty deep blue, star-shaped flowers with yellow throats on short, straight stems above stiff, grass-like foliage. Very pretty at the front of the border.
Centered, near Bermuda Blue Eyed Grass' leaf, sitting Whistling frog (Eleutherodactylus johnstonei).
The most widely distributed frog in the Eastern Caribbean, the Lesser Antillean whistling frog (Eleutherodactylus johnstonei) is an otherwise rather indistinct, small- to medium-sized frog of dull brown to greyish-tan colour, with large golden-brown eyes. A V-shaped marking, or chevron, normally sits on the shoulder, occasionally with a second chevron behind, and there is often a pair of broad dorsal stripes. The back of the legs are marbled, stippled or blotched with black, with a creamy under-side. This frog has rounded fingers that have large, adhesive disks which lack webbing. The male Lesser Antillean whistling frog is smaller than the female. (Wildscreen Arkive)
Above are the yachts. Top of them is a hologram window with Bermuda's profile inside.
At the top is a Warwick Lizard.
The Warwick Lizard acquired its name during a time when it could be found almost exclusively in Warwick Parish. Since then the lizard has found its way to the other areas of the island and can now be seen almost everywhere on the mainland. The largest of our lizards, males can reach lengths of up to 14in/36cm. To easily distinguish the Warwick lizard from the other 2 species of lizard found here, look for the yellow ring around its eye.
While native to Antigua and Barbuda, it is thought to have been accidentally introduced to Bermuda sometime during the 1940s.
Bottom left is an image of HM The Queen. The new designs were described as "distinctly Bermudian", with Queen Elizabeth II being relegated to a minor position, using a royal effigy made by Arnold Machin.
Revers:
Along left border are butterflies Danaus plexippus.
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. It may be the most familiar North American butterfly. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9-10.2 cm. (3½-4 in.) (the viceroy butterfly is similar in color and pattern, but is markedly smaller, and has an extra black stripe across the hind wing).
The eastern North American monarch population is notable for its multigenerational southward late summer/autumn migration from the United States and southern Canada to Mexico, covering thousands of miles. The western North American population of monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains most often migrate to sites in California but have been found in overwintering Mexico sites. Monarchs were transported to the international space station and were bred there.
Near the butterflies is, again, flower Sisyrinchium bermudianum (Bermuda Blue Eyed Grass).
Lower, on the left side, is St.Mark's church.
A fascinating and often entertaining history of St. Mark’s Church was published by the St. Mark’s Church Vestry in 1986, with a second edition published in 2010. The book was researched and written by W.S. Zuill with chapters by the late Rev. Ernest Redfern and Mr. Anthony Pettit, and a foreword by the late Rev. Terence Abernethy.
There have actually been three Bermuda churches on the St. Mark’s site, and there is some debate as to where the original structure stood. We know the first church was in operation in the 1650’s and was known as Harris Bay Church. It was situated somewhere within a 50-acre tract of land that ran from the South Shore across Town Hill to North Shore.
In 1712 the original church was badly damaged in a hurricane and the decision was made to rebuild. The second church was built on the south side of South Road within the Church’s present cemetery grounds. This structure endured for over a century but efforts to expand the church in 1846 were halted when the structure was deemed unsound. Remnants of this structure were found in a 1998 archeological dig on the site.
That same year work on the current structure began. The first service in the new church was held on Easter Sunday, April 23, 1848. However the church was not consecrated until February 13, 1849 - a day that is sometimes celebrated as the birthday of St. Mark’s.(St.Mark's the Anglican church of Smith parish)
Above, on the right side, is Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.
Built in 1844 by the Royal Engineers, the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse is the taller of two lighthouses on Bermuda, and one of the first lighthouses in the world to be made of cast-iron. This is because at that time, steel still was not able to be bent. The optic consists of a Fresnel lens from 1904 revolving on steel bearings. However for most of its history, the lens revolved on a bed of 1,200 pounds of mercury. While it is certainly not extremely tall in lighthouse standards, the hill that it stands on is one of the highest on the island. The light's focal plane on Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, therefore, is at 354 feet (108 m) above sea level. Airplanes can see its flashes from over 100 miles (160 km) away. The lighthouse has 185 steps to the top in eight flights. Until 1964, most of the light was run by hand, but in June of that year, the whole system was automated and runs on electricity. Sixty-thousand people ascended the lighthouse in 1985, and it continues to be a popular tourist attraction.
A radar antenna for marine shipping was installed atop the lighthouse in 1987 supported on a steel space frame fixed at the original bolt locations. The radar and supporting frame were undamaged in September 2003 despite the oscillation of the tower during Hurricane Fabian. This movement caused two gallons of mercury to slop out of the lens support trough and put the light out of operation. The 1904 lens was repaired in 2004 with steel bearings to replace the mercury.
At the base of the tower is the Lighthouse Tea Room, a restaurant converted from the lighthouse keeper's former living quarters, where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily.
At the top are dawn at Bermuda and again, the Warwick lizard..
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