Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) says it is aware that the J$5,000 commemorative banknote, issued on July 23, 2012, in celebration of Jamaica’s 50th year of political independence, is currently in circulation.

The Central Bank, in a statement on Tuesday (December 7), said it has also been advised that persons are experiencing difficulty conducting transactions with this banknote. In this regard, the bank apologises for any inconvenience caused.

Although the commemorative $5,000 note is similar to the standard $5,000, there are some differences in appearance.

“Nevertheless, the bank wishes to advise that both versions are genuine and acceptable for all transactions as legal tender. The front of both versions of the $5,000 features the image of the late former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Hugh Lawson Shearer. However, in addition to this, the front of the commemorative $5,000 note also features the Jamaica 50 logo,” the BOJ explained.

“The back of the standard $5,000 and the commemorative version are similar except for the vignette, which is an aerial view of Highway 2000, for the former. For the commemorative $5,000, the back of the banknote bears the photograph of a group of children from the Central Branch Primary School (c.1962) representing the National Motto ‘Out of Many, One People’. This photograph previously appeared on the reverse (back) of the $2.00 banknote which was in circulation between 1969 and 1994,” the central bank added.

In terms of the security features, BOJ further indicated that these remain the same for both the standard $5,000 note and the commemorative $5,000 bill.

Despite the abovementioned differences between the standard version of the $5000 note and the commemorative version, both are genuine notes for use in the settlement of transactions, as long as the security features are consistent with those reflected on Bank of Jamaica’s website.