On Friday, January 28, 2022, Dr. Gobind Ganga, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, unveiled a new polymer commemorative banknote that will go into circulation on or before February 14, 2022.
The issue, commemorating Guyana’s 55th Independence anniversary, is being coordinated around the time of "Mashramani." Mashramani, often abbreviated as "Mash," is an annual festival that celebrates Guyana becoming a republic on February 23, 1970. Guyana (formerly British Guiana) achieved independence from the United Kingdom as a dominion on May 26, 1966 and became a republic four years later, remaining a member of the Commonwealth.
The issuance of this banknote was initially delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new GUY$ 2,000 banknote depicts the One Guyana unity theme. The obverse of the note portrays the Bank of Guyana's logo in the foreground and the national flag in the background. The Bank's logo is divided into four sections, representing the industries of rice (top left), timber (top right), shipbuilding (bottom left) and minerals (bottom right). The country's outline is shown on the right. A clear window is at the left. Guyana's national flower, Victoria amazonica, the largest in the water lily family, Nymphaeaceae, is included as a color-changing security device at lower center right. At lower center left is the logo of this year's anniversary: "55TH ONE GUYANA Independence Anniversary".
The reverse of the banknote reinforces the "One Guyana" theme by portraying the faces of children from Guyana’s six ethnic groups: Indigenous, East Indian, African, Portuguese, European and Chinese. The text "ONE PEOPLE, ONE NATION, ONE COUNTRY" is included to the right of the children's faces. A Wai-Wai pattern is shown on the left in respect of the country’s cultural heritage. The Wai Wai indigenous people live deep within the forest near the border with Brazil: they were first discovered by westerners in the 1800s.
The banknote is signed by Dr. Gobind Ganga, Governor of the Bank of Guyana since November 2014, and Bharatt Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana since August 2020 (formerly the 7th President of Guyana from 1999-2011).
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