2021-02-15 Mon

The Central Bank of Barbados has unveiled a limited-edition glow-in-the-dark one-dollar coin, which is being issued as a tribute to Barbados’ essential workers. The coins were struck by the Royal Canadian Mint, and are said to be the first glow-in-the-dark circulating coins outside of Canada.

The coin features the same design as regular Barbados 1 Dollar coins, but the flying fish and waves in the reverse design are painted light blue. That paint contains a special property that absorbs energy from the sun or other light. In a dark setting, if it has absorbed enough energy, the coin will glow.

Given enough energy, the coins will glow for a few minutes, with the first minute or so being the brightest. Once all the stored energy is used up, the coin stops glowing. After further exposure to light, it will glow again.

Image Courtesy: cdn.gisbarbados.gov.bb