PMG's Featured Note of the Month: Cayman Islands 40 Dollars

Posted on 9/19/2023

For Talk Like a Pirate Day, here's a Caribbean banknote that celebrates the legacy of the buccaneers.



Cayman Islands, Currency Board 1974 (ND 1981) 40 Dollars graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge.

Country: Cayman Islands

Catalog Number: 9a

Date: 1974 (ND 1981)

Denomination: 40 Dollars

Varieties: The PMG Population Report shows three varieties: 9a* for Replacement notes, 9as for Specimens and 9CS1 for Collector's Specimens

What makes it special? The front of the banknote shows Queen Elizabeth II while the back shows the Pirates Weeks Festival, a major celebration in the Cayman Islands. The 40 Dollar notes were the highest denomination at the time, but they proved unpopular and were discontinued. Later, 50 Dollar and 100 Dollar notes were introduced.

Did you know? Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19, a fun international holiday dedicated to the unusual speech pattern of pirates. Before the English permanently settled there in the early 1700s, the Cayman Islands (located south of Cuba) had been a haven for pirates. Today, the Cayman Islands has a population of over 70,000, nearly all of whom reside on Grand Cayman.

Total graded by PMG: As of early September 2023, the PMG Population Report includes 299 examples of Pick# 9a, as well as 30 of Pick# 9a*, 10 of Pick# 9s and eight of Pick# 9CS1.

PMG median grade: PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ.

PMG highest graded: The PMG Population Report lists three examples of Pick# 9a and one Pick# 9CS1 in PMG 68 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ.

Sales highlights: An example of Pick# 9a graded PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ realized $480 in March 2023 through Heritage Auctions, while an example of Pick# 9a graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ realized $336 at a Heritage sale in August 2023.

PMG Registry: This note is part of three categories, including Cayman Islands, 1971-Date, Type Set, Issued Notes, where an example of Pick# 9a* graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ appears in Alan Collection Malaysia's Cayman Islands, 1971-Date, P1-Date, Complete set. The note is also part of the Currency Board Set, 1971-Date, Issued Notes, Complete, Including Varieties, where example of Pick# 9a graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ is part of Alan Collection Malaysia's Cayman Islands Currency Board QE II Set. A Pick# 9s is part of Alan Collection Malaysia's Cayman 1971-Date Specimen Set, which is the only set so far in the Currency Board Set, 1971-Date, Type Set, Specimen set type.

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PMG's Featured Note of the Month: Cayman Islands 40 Dollars

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