Mauritius announces new series of banknotes
The Bank of Mauritius has announced it will issue a new series of banknotes in the second half of 2017. From the press release:
The Bank of Mauritius has issued four families of banknotes since 1967. The fourth and last family of banknotes was issued as from 1 July 1999 in seven denominations – namely, Rs25, Rs50, Rs100, Rs200, Rs500, Rs1,000 (issued as from 24 August 1999) and Rs2,000. Polymer banknotes were issued in three denominations of Rs25, Rs50, and Rs500 in August 2013.
Although the Bank of Mauritius introduced new security features and improved the quality of the banknotes, the designs of banknotes have remained the same since 1999. The banknotes were designed to show on the front the portrait of a political personality and, on the back, a particular landmark or landscape.
After seventeen years, the Bank of Mauritius considers it high time for a new family of banknotes, the more so in a world where technological innovations have facilitated counterfeiting.
Following the Governor’s consultations with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, it has been decided that portraits of personalities will be replaced with illustrative elements that may include our country’s national heritage, history, culture, endemic species of the Mauritian flora and fauna, and distinctive landscapes.
Update 22-7-2016: According to this news article the new familiy of banknotes has been postponed due to heavy criticism for its high cost.
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