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The flag of the Bahamas was officially adopted on July 10, 1973. The flag was designed by Rev. Dr. Hervis Bain 鈥� a Bahamian artist.

The National Flag of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas features three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine; with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side. The gold band color represents the golden beaches of the islands surrounded by the aquamarine sea. The two-aquamarine blue color bands symbolize the Caribbean Sea and the black color represents the strength, vigor, and force of a united people. The black equilateral triangle pointing towards the body of the flag indicates the enterprise and determination of the Bahamian people to develop and possess the rich resources of land and sea. The flag has a width-to-length proportion ratio of 1:2.

History of the Flag of The Bahamas

Before 1973, the flag of The Bahamas was a British blue ensign with the colony鈥檚 seal. The seal displayed the colony鈥檚 motto below a picture of two pirate ships fleeing from the British Navy. The flag was designed in the honor of the British sailors who hunted pirates from the Bahamas during the colony鈥檚 early history. This flag did not receive government approval until 1964. After this, The Bahamas began to negotiate their Independence and began to search for a new flag. A competition was organized to pick the new flag design. The government chose to create The Bahamas Flag by combining aspects of several different design submissions that were received during the competition. The final design of the current flag was first flown on July 10, 1973 鈥� the first day of the Nation鈥檚 Independence from Great Britain.

National Anthem

• Anthem Title: "March on, Bahamaland"
• Music Composer: Timothy Gibson
• Lyricist: Timothy Gibson
• Date of Adoption: July 10, 1973

"March On, Bahamaland" is the national anthem of The Bahamas. The anthem has been composed and authored by Timothy Gibson. It was officially adopted as the national anthem on July 10, 1973, when the country gained independence from the United Kingdom. Since Bahamas retains the British Monarch as their Head of State, the anthem "God Save the Queen" serves as the royal anthem of Bahamas.

The official currency of The Bahamas is the Bahamian dollar ($, B$, BSD). 聽Since 1996, The Bahamian dollar has served as the country's official currency. It exists in denominations of $1/2, $1, $3, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100. The Bahamian currency is minted by the Central Bank of the Bahamas. The Bahamian dollar is also used in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Bahamian Coins

Coins were introduced in the Bahamas in 1966. Denominations included 1 and 2 dollars, and 50, 25, 15, 10, 5, and 1 cent coins. These were struck in nickel-brass, cupronickel, and silver. However, the silver coins were not circulated in the economy after 1966. The current Bahamian 1 cent coin is slightly smaller than a US dime. However, the 5 and 25 cent coins are equal in size to the 5 and 25 cents US coins but have different metal compositions. All coins have the Bahamian Court of Arms inscribed on one side, while the reverse face contains objects of Bahamian culture, such as pineapple, two bonefish, three starfish, hibiscus, and a native sloop. Bahamians portray great honor for their culture with these objects. It should be noted that the 15 cents, 50 cents, $1, $2, and $5 coins are seldom used.

Bahamian Banknotes

Bahamian banknotes were also introduced in 1966 in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 3, 1, and 陆 dollars. The Bahamas Money Authority was responsible for issuing the banknotes starting in 1968, and after 1974 all banknotes were printed by the Central Bank of the Bahamas. The banknotes are equal in physical size to the US dollar notes. The Bahamian currency has experienced different changes to reduce problems of forgery. Most recently, the counterfeit-proof 鈥淐ounterfeit Resistant Integrated Security Product (CRISP)鈥� formula was introduced. All notes previously included the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, but then featured portraits of former Bahamian politicians. More recently, however, the portrait of the older Queen Elizabeth II has been reintroduced on the $10 and $100 banknotes. The current Bahamas dollar notes are dark green, mint green, or brown. They measure 156 mm long and 67 mm wide in size. Security features can include watermarks, security threads, see-through features of the Sand dollar, 100% cotton banknote paper, and latent images. Additionally, the $1/2, $3, and $100 notes are rarely used today.

Historical Currencies of Bahamas

The Bahamian dollar has not always been the currency of the Bahamas. Initially, the pound was used, until 1966 when it was replaced by the Bahamian dollar at a rate of 1 dollar to 7 shillings. The sterling to dollar rate was then fixed at 拢1 equal to $2.80 following the system of parity with the US dollar. The $3 bills and the 15 cent coins were minted during the transition from pounds to dollars to assist in decimalization.