On November 28, 2023, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) posted a teaser announcement on their "ECCB Connects" Facebook page that a new commemorative $2 polymer banknote will be issued on December 6, 2023, available at commercial banks throughout the ECCU (Eastern Caribbean Currency Union) countries and territories.
On December 1, 2023, the unveiling of the design of the new commemorative banknote was held at Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa in St. John's, Antigua. Several people, including officials from the ECCB and the country director from De La Rue (DLR), the printer of the banknote, spoke. The actual unveiling of the images of the obverse and reverse of the new commemorative banknote was done by the Hon. Camillo Gonsalves, Chairman of the ECCB Monetary Council, and Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander "Viv" Richards.
The new commemorative banknote honors both the 40th anniversary of the ECCB, which was established on October 1, 1983, and Sir Richards. The banknote is polymer, printed on DLR's Safeguard® substrate, vertically oriented and slightly smaller than the polymer banknotes currently in circulation. This is the first $2 banknote that the ECCB has ever issued.
The obverse of the banknote prominently portrays Sir I. V. A. Richards in action at the top of the note. Sir Richards, who was presented at the unveiling with the first banknote by Mr. Gonsalves, is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Sir Richards is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, nicknamed "the Master Blaster." Sir Richards helped win his team the 1979 Cricket World Cup. He was knighted for his contributions to cricket in 1999. Now retired and 71 years old, he mostly plays golf to stay fit. The front of the banknote also includes:
- the ECCB's "40 ANNIVERSARY LOGO": the logo of the ECCB forms the zero in 50, under which one finds the words: STABLE | TRANSFORMATIVE | ACCOUNTABLE | RESILIENT.
- an aquatic design that fills the lower half of the banknote, complementing the design on the reverse of the note.
The reverse of the new commemorative banknote includes:
- a thriving, interconnected underwater ecosystem featuring various fish, starfish, coral reefs, a turtle, etc.
- a map of the Caribbean Islands showing the countries and territories in the ECCU: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
- the ECCB's "40 ANNIVERSARY LOGO."
Security features include:
- a transparent window at the bottom of the banknote.
- a colorful, holographic foil strip that changes color when the banknote is tilted.
- the turtle on the obverse featuring ARGENTUM™, a visually striking and highly reflective treatment, achieved by printing a specialist silver ink within the gravure layers of the banknote.
- areas of shiny iridescent gold ink around the clear window on the reverse that shimmer as one tilts the banknote.
- images that glow in two colors under ultraviolet light.
The teaser announcement video stated that "the note features a regional icon," but did not explain this any further. The regional icon was revealed to be Sir Richards at the unveiling.
