20 Dollars 2009, Trinidad and Tobago
| in Krause book | Number: 49 |
| Years of issue: | 2009 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Governor: Mr. Ewart S. Williams (2002 - 2012) |
| Serie: | Central Bank Act Chap.79.02 |
| Specimen of: | 2006 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 152 x 70 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
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** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
The white-tailed sabrewing (Campylopterus ensipennis). Denomination 20.
Avers:
On the left side, near the flower Allamanda cathartica, is the the white-tailed sabrewing (Campylopterus ensipennis).
The white-tailed sabrewing (Campylopterus ensipennis) is a large hummingbird that breeds in northeastern Venezuela and Tobago. It was thought to have become extinct in Tobago after hurricane Flora in 1963, but the population has now largely recovered. This species is now featured on Tobago’s environmental posters under the nickname “Campy”.
This bird inhabits mountain forests. The female white-tailed sabrewing lays its two white eggs in a relatively large cup nest on a low branch, often near water.
The white-tailed sabrewing is 12 cm long and weighs 10 g. The sexes are similar, but the female is duller. The black bill is 25 cm long and slightly decurved. The adult male is bright green with a shiny blue throat and a white moustachial stripe.
The three outer pairs of feathers of the tail are white and the shafts of the outer flight feathers are thickened and flattened which gives the distinctive feature of the sabrewings, their English and genus names. In this case, both parts of the scientific name refer to this feature, Campylopterus and ensipennis being derived from the Greek and Latin respectively for "bent wing". 
The bird flying near flower Allamanda cathartica.
Allamanda cathartica, commonly called golden trumpet, common trumpetvine, and yellow allamanda, is a species of flowering plant of the genus Allamanda in the family Apocynaceae. It is native to Brazil. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its large, fragrant flowers. It is a vine that requires a trellis or a fence for support. It does not twine, nor does it have tendrils or aerial roots. It can be pruned into a shrub form. If not pruned it can sprawl to a height of 20 feet.
The city of Canóvanas, Puerto Rico has adopted this species, known locally as canario amarillo, as its official flower.
Centered is the coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago.
The coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago was designed by a committee formed in 1962 to select the symbols that would be representative of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. The committee included noted artist Carlisle Chang and the late designer George Bailey.
The palm tree crest at the top of the coat of arms was taken from Tobago’s coat of arms before it was joined in political union with Trinidad. The wreath represents the crown of the monarchy of the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago’s colonizers at the time of independence. The shield has the same colours (black, red, and white) as the nation’s flag and they carry the same meaning. The gold ships represent the Santa María, La Niña, and La Pinta: the three ships Christopher Columbus used on his journey to the “New World”. The two birds on the shield are hummingbirds. Trinidad is sometimes referred to as the “Land of the Hummingbird” because more than sixteen different species of hummingbird have been recorded on the island.
“Land of the Hummingbird” is also believed to have been the Native American name for Trinidad. The two larger birds are the Scarlet Ibis (left) and the Cocrico (right), the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. Below the Scarlet Ibis are three hills, representing the Trinity Hills in southern Trinidad, which, it is believed, convinced Columbus to name the island after the Holy Trinity. The island rising out of the waters beneath the Cocrico represents Tobago. Below these birds is the nation’s motto, "Together We Aspire, Together We Achieve".
Denominations in numerals are in all corners, in words lower centered.
Revers:
Centered are the buildings of Central Bank Trinidad and Tobago.
Eric Williams Plaza, also known as the Eric Williams Financial Complex, located on Independence Square, Port of Spain, is the tallest building in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as in the English-speaking Caribbean. It consists of a pair of skyscrapers 22 stories high and 302 ft (92 m) tall, locally known as the "Twin Towers". Construction on the complex started in 1979 and ended in 1986. The complex was officially opened on March 29, 1986. The architect who managed the construction was Anthony C. Lewis Partnership.
The Eric Williams Plaza was named after Eric Williams, the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago. The first tower houses the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago while the second tower houses the Ministry of Finance. The first tower's official name is Eric Williams Financial Tower and the second tower's official name is the Central Bank Tower. The building surrounding the towers is the old Central Bank. The old Central Bank building has gold and currency vaults, administrative areas, an auditorium and a concert hall. It is one of the finest facilities in the country. It is also part of the complex. Both towers contain building security, communications, and life-safety systems.
The towers have an earthquake resistant design. The cross braces and core walls in both towers are designed to take earthquake forces with the former taking 15% of the forces and the latter taking 85%. Additionally, great care was taken in the detailing of the reinforcement. The thickness of the basement under each tower is 25'. The pile cap under each tower is a cellular raft which is a combination of 9' × 6' beams and an 18" slab. Water storage for the complex is located in the basements of the towers.
The building is located on the Brian Lara Promenade, Independence Square (formerly Marine Square) in downtown Port of Spain. It was the tallest building in Trinidad and Tobago until the Nicholas Tower was constructed by businessman Issa Nicholas.
From 1993 to January of 1999, the office of the Prime Minister was housed here; in 1999 it was returned to the Whitehall.
On the right side are the Steelpans.
Steelpans (also known as steel drums or pans, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steel band or orchestra) is a musical instrument originating from Trinidad and Tobago. Steel pan musicians are called pannists.
The modern pan is a chromatically pitched percussion instrument (although some toy or novelty steelpans are tuned diatonically, and some older style round the neck instruments have even fewer notes), made from 55 gallon drums that formerly contained oil and like substances.
Drum refers to the steel drum containers from which the pans are made; the steeldrum is more correctly called a steel pan or pan as it falls into the idiophone family of instruments, and so is not a drum which is a membranophone.
The pan is struck using a pair of straight sticks tipped with rubber; the size and type of rubber tip varies according to the class of pan being played. Some musicians use four pansticks, holding two in each hand. This skill and performance has been conclusively shown to have grown out of Trinidad and Tobago's early XX century Carnival percussion groups known as Tamboo Bamboo. The pan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. Since Pythagoras calculated the formula for the musical cycle of fourths and fifths, Steel Pans are the only instruments made to follow this configuration.
French planters and their slaves emigrated to Trinidad during the French Revolution (1789) from Martinique, including a number of West Africans, and French creoles from Saint Vincent, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Dominica, establishing a local community before Trinidad and Tobago were taken from Spain by the British. Carnival had arrived with the French, and the slaves, who could not take part in Carnival, formed their own, parallel celebration called canboulay.
Stick fighting and African percussion music were banned in 1880, in response to the Canboulay Riots. They were replaced by bamboo sticks beaten together, which were themselves banned in turn. In 1937 they reappeared in Laventille, transformed as an orchestra of frying pans, dustbin lids and oil drums. These steelpans are now a major part of the Trinidadian music scene and are a popular section of the Canboulay music contests. In 1941, the United States Navy arrived on Trinidad, and the panmen, who were associated with lawlessness and violence, helped to popularize steel pan music among soldiers, which began its international popularization.
The first instruments developed in the evolution of steelpan were Tamboo-Bamboos, tunable sticks made of bamboo wood. These were hit onto the ground and with other sticks in order to produce sound. Tamboo-Bamboo bands also included percussion of a (gin) bottle and spoon. By the mid-1930s, bits of metal percussion were being used in the tamboo bamboo bands, the first probably being either the automobile brake hub "iron" or the biscuit drum "boom". The former replaced the gin bottle-and-spoon, and the latter the "bass" bamboo that was pounded on the ground. By the late 1930s their occasional all-steel bands were seen at Carnival and by 1940 it had become the preferred Carnival accompaniment of young underprivileged men. The 55-gallon oil drum was used to make steelpans from around 1947. The Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO), formed to attend the Festival of Britain in 1951, was the first steelband whose instruments were all made from oil drums. Members of TASPO included Ellie Mannette and Winston "Spree" Simon. Hugh Borde also led the National Steel Band of Trinidad & Tobago at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in England, as well as the Esso Tripoli Steel Band, who played at the World's Fair in Montreal, Canada, and later toured with Liberace and were also featured on an album with him.
Denominations in numerals are in all corners.
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