1. Watermark and hibiscus flower visible when held to light 2. See-through feature when held to light 3. Serial numbers increasing in size 4. Iridescent band on the $20, $50 and $100 denominations 5. Latent image (tilt the image and the denomination numeral appears
1. Watermark and hibiscus flower visible when held to light 2. See-through feature when held to light 3. Serial numbers increasing in size 4. Iridescent band on the $20, $50 and $100 denominations 5. Latent image (tilt the image and the denomination numeral appears
Cash may not be plentiful right now - but it's certainly getting more colourful.

The island's currency has undergone a complete redesign, and will soon utilize state-of-the-art anti-counterfeiting technology - and feature animals and local settings in its artwork.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority this week unveiled the new bills - which will begin circulating along side current banknotes in early '09.

They're also typeset vertically instead of horizontally, something not seen on many national currencies, except for Venezuela and Switzerland.

The $2, $5, $10 $20, $50 and $100 denominations keep their overall colour scheme, but now display birds, fish, or in the case of the twenty - a small frog where the Queen's head would normally be.

The portrait of the Queen has been removed as the prominent image, made smaller, and will now be featured in the bottom left corner of the front of the bill.

Pictures of prominent Bermuda landmarks such as the Lighthouse, Somerset Bridge, and St. Peter's Church adorn the reverse sides.

But the most important feature of the new notes is their cutting-edge security features, BMA officials said.

They have a unique feature called 'optiks' in the form of an oval on the front strip, which look metallic in reflected daylight, and transparent with a map of Bermuda on the back strip, according to Marcia Woolridge-Allwood, director of corporate and financial services at the BMA.

"No note is counterfeit-proof, but these notes are part of the technological advances (in anti-counterfeiting)," she said.

The BMA worked with U.K. printers De La Rue Currency to come up with the features of the new note design.

To ensure a smooth implementation, the BMA has consulted with financial institutions and will conduct training sessions with industry groups and schools to show how the security features work, a press statement said.