The Editor, Sir:

I am currently reading The Search, a non-fictional novel by Hartley Neita. So when I heard the news about our issuing a $5,000 note, my thoughts returned to a conversation we had several years ago. He told me then that he would have liked to see the image of Bob Marley placed on one of our highest bank notes. His vision was that such a note would be doubly functional as legal tender and sales product. He felt there would be high demand for the note as souvenir and collector's item. The potential benefits are obvious.

If we ran a cost/benefit analysis of placing Bob Marley's image on one of our bills, and found that the benefits would be note-worthy (pun intended); would we consider adjusting the guidelines which currently permit only images of national heroes or former prime ministers?

Based on the list on the Bank of Jamaica's (BoJ) very informative website, it appears our reggae hero holds the record for having commemorative coins minted in his honour. The BoJ has issued souvenir coins to commemorate Bob Marley's 50th and 60th birthdays (1995 and 2005, respectively).

Hartley Neita, who at one point worked with the Jamaica Tourist Board; wrote the biography on Hugh Lawson Shearer, Hugh Shearer - A Voice for the People, served as his press secretary, and later became his trusted friend. But, I wonder whether Neita would have smiled in approval at the news that the late prime minister will be memorialised in this way. Or if he would have seen this decision as a missed opportunity to optimise the benefits of this newest denomination.

The BoJ's website explains that: "Our currency is regarded as a symbol of our independence and nationalism, and the portrait, perhaps more than any other design element, reflects this."

This sets the stage is already set for our consideration of Bob Marley. Now, let us run the numbers to see whether it is feasible. In the meantime, visualise each tourist leaving the island with a bottle of white rum and a bank note.

I am, etc.,

KLAO BELL

Kingston 5