Bahamas P-WA77—1/2 dollar—50 cents—2019 UNC—Queen Elizabeth II—Burmese Ruby Tiara

Front:

• Color: grey on multicolor
• Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Burmese Ruby Tiara 
• Outline map of the Bahama Islands
• Bahama strongback flower
• Lizard shaped, color-changing, metallic foil at centre
• See-through feature at lower left

Back:

• Color: Orange and grey on multicolor
• Sister Sarah in Nassau Market; people; produce
• Coat of arms
  

Security features: This note is part of the Bahamas' CRISP (Counterfeit Resistant Integrated Security Product) family, specifically designed to combat forgeries, with features that are different for each denomination.

• Watermark
• Highlighted Image (Electrotype): when held up to light, a highlighted image appears next to the watermark
• Security Threads: in different places per denomination.
• Latent Image: difficult to see with the naked eye on a genuine banknote, but becomes more obvious once reproduced
• Phosphorescent Feature (BLINK): feature idesigned for merchants; requires a black fluorescent lamp. 

Read the Central Bank's brochure

The Burmese Ruby Tiara was created in 1973 for Queen Elizabeth II from 96 rubies presented to her by the people of Burma (Myanmar) as a wedding gift in 1947, each ruby traditionally believed to protect against one of the illnesses or evils that could afflict the human body. Set in a lattice of diamond Tudor roses by Garrard, the rubies form stylized rose centers, blending British heraldic symbolism with Southeast Asian protective lore. The piece thus operates simultaneously as a jewel of state, a talisman, and a quiet memorial to Britain’s former Asian empire, Burma having been part of the British Raj until independence in 1948.

Sister Sarah is a well-known folk figure and street spiritualist associated especially with Nassau’s Straw Market and downtown Bay Street. She was a charismatic obeah-type healer, fortune-teller, and counselor in the mid-20th century, believed to have prophetic and healing powers, whom locals and visitors alike sought out for advice, protection, and spiritual work. Over time she became part historical person, part legend — a symbol of Afro-Bahamian spiritual authority existing alongside, and outside of, formal Christianity and colonial respectability.

The Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1718, remaining under direct imperial rule until it gained internal self-government in 1964, and then full independence on 10 July 1973. From then until her passing in 2022, Queen Elizabeth II reigned as Queen of the Bahamas, separately from her role as British monarch.