The Libya Herald reports that the long awaited new banknotes will be issued today.
The Central Bank of Libya says that it will start issuing new Libyan banknotes as of thursday. The notes have face values of one, five, ten and twenty dinars. There were plans to bring in a 50 dinars note but the Bank decided against it in a bid to control the black economy. According to the Bank’s Facebook page, there will be a special event at the Bank in the morning to launch the new notes attended by the chairman, Saddek Elkaber, the vice chairman, members of the board and CEOs of other banks. The new notes arrived on Wednesday at Mitiga airbase and will slowly replace the old ones.
Given the bad information in the past about the Central Bank and the new banknotes, I will only believe it when I see it.
The Chinese website Gobal Times reports: The National Bank of Cambodia officially issued a new 1,000-riel banknote in order to remember and dedicate to late King Father Norodom Sihanouk. A sub-decree on the issuance of the new 1,000-riel currency was signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday.
The new note displays a portrait of late King Father Sihanouk on the obverse and a picture of a golden swan-shaped float that transported Sihanouk's body on the reverse. It main colors are pink and blue.
During his life time, Sihanouk's photos were printed on the current banknotes of 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 50,000 riels, and 100,000 riels. Sihanouk died of illness at the age of 90 in Beijing on October 15 last year. His body is now lying in state at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh for the public to pay tribute. The body will be moved from the Palace to a custom-built crematorium at the Veal Preah Meru Square next to the Palace on February 1 and kept it for another three days at the site before it is cremated on February 4. About 1.5 million mourners are expected to attend the funeral, which will be safeguarded by some 11,000 security forces.
Born on October 31, 1922, Sihanouk ruled Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his voluntary abdication on October 7, 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.
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News from the United Arab Emirates. The National AE reports: "the UAE Central Bank has announced plans that it will put into circulation newly reprinted 100 dirham and 1000 dirham banknotes with fresh security features on Saturday.
The new features include a replacement of the metallic ink surrounding the UAE emblem by multi-coloured ink on the upper half of the front side of the two bills. A multi-coloured 3mm-wide security thread with "AED100" written on the front will also replace the current silver security thread at present. A similar multi-coloured thread will appear on the back side of the 1000 dirham bill.
The Central Bank said the overall design and other specifications of the two notes will stay the same."
Below are the new banknotes. You can see the security features in more detail for the 100 dirham and for the 1000 dirham. More information about security features in general can be found in this article.
Recently I wrote the following text in a post about the Lunar New Year.
Macau has authorised the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) and the Bank of China from 2012 to 2023 to issue a maximum of 20 million special notes with a face value of 10 patacas for the forthcoming Lunar Year of the Snake. Last year with the Year of the Dragon 'only' 10 million notes were printed which led to ridiculous speculation. Especially the banknotes with one or more 8's at the end of the serial number were sold for top prizes.
According to this article the rush for special banknotes has still overwhelmed the servers of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino. To be honest: the special banknotes do look very nice.
Luanda Angola Reserve Bank (BNA) announced it will release officially a new banknote series on Tuesday.
Update: From March to June the new series will be gradually introduced in the economy and will circulate simultaneously with the current ones. The new series has notes of 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 Kwanzas. The 10.000 Kwanza note will only be released "as necessary".
The new signature on the euro banknotes by Mario Draghi has now also been confirmed for banknotes of 100 euro. More info on the signatures on the euro banknotes can be found in this post.
Source
The Banque Centrale du Congo has released the 20.000 francs note into circulation.
Bangladesh has released a commemorative note of 25 taka in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Security Printing Corporation. The note has also been released in a special folder as a numismatic product and sold for 100 taka.
A while ago I wrote a post about the large denomination notes from the USA. They go all the way up to the infamous 100.000 dollar banknote with president Woodrow Wilson at the front. It turns out that Great Britain also has a few banknotes with very high denominations.
This article on the BBC website describes the two denominations. One is a note of 1 million pounds known as a 'giant'. But even this expensive piece of paper pales in comparison to the one they call the 'titan': a banknote worth 100 million pound.
They are of course useless if you would want to spend them in a supermarket. They serve as backup for the Scottish and Irish banks who issue their own money. People using these banknotes would know their money is always backed by these giants and titans should the local bank fail.
More info on this fascinating story at the BBC website.
Some news from my own country, the Netherlands. The PvdA, the dutch Labour party which is also part of the government at the moment, has proposed a withdrawal of the 500 euro banknotes from circulation. According to MP Henk Nijboer the largest euro banknote is primarily used by criminals and not by common people like you and me.
Nijboer also points to Canada and the United States where large denominations have been pulled from the market at the advice of crime fighting organisations. This results in the euro slowly replacing the dollar as the number 1 crime currency. Nijboer has asked the dutch Minister of Finance (and newly appointed chairman of the Eurogroup) Dijsselbloem to promote his idea at the European Central Bank.
Just recently I mentioned a possible new 2000 pound banknote for Syria. This was quickly unmasked as a fake design. But now Banknotenews has found a video from Morocco. This video by the Bank Al-Maghrib in Morocco contains brief images of a 1000 pound note as well as a 100 pound note (shown at the 2:40 mark). Neither of them has been issued yet.
And here's the video:
The Russian Central Bank has announced it will issue a commemorative banknote of 100 ruble to celebrate the coming Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. No details have been released about the design of the note only that the note will differ in color from the regular red 100 ruble note.
The last time a country issued a commemorative Olympic note was China for the Olympics of 2008. These notes can still be bought for very high prices on eBay.
The Civil War changed the country more than any other event in U.S. history, and its echoes are very much with us yet in many aspects of American life. Even the paper money we use every day is a consequence of the war.
Very nice article about the US banking system and the development of paper money in the 19th century. You can find the full article here.
Ynetnews.com reports that war-torn Syria will issue a new 2000 pound banknote. It will feature for the first time the image of president Bashar Assad where previously an image of his father was. The new banknote has probably been printed in Russia.
The note will be issued at the beginning of February 2013.
Update: It turns out that the picture shown here is actually a fabrication. Banknotenews has found out that the banknote is a modified Hungarian note of 2000 Forint. It seems that you can't even trust an internet source anymore... 
A few days ago I wrote about the Canadian polymer banknotes which faced with all kinds of criticism and complaints. From serious ones to the more ludicrous. The list seems to grow longer every day. And now a new complaint has been made about the 20 Dollar note.
Sean Blaney, senior botanist of the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, claims that the maple leaf shown on the banknote is not the sugar maple (which is featured on the national flag) but in fact the Norway maple.
"It's a species that's invasive in Eastern Canada and is displacing some of our native species, and it's probably not an appropriate species to be putting on our native currency," Blaney told CBC News.
The central bank said the image on the new bills was purposefully designed not to represent any specific species but rather to be a combination of various kinds. "It is not a Norway maple leaf. It is a stylized maple leaf and it is what it ought to be," said Bank of Canada currency spokesman Julie Girard. Mr. Blaney doesn't buy this explanation and thinks the Bank has made an error.
Below are both leaves. On the left is the Norway maple leaf and on the right is the sugar maple. So who's right?
The 200 Rand I nominated for Banknote fo the Year 2012 is now featured on the IBNS website! You can still nominate your own favourite until 31 January 2013.
I found an interesting article on the site of LANSA, the Latin American Paper Money Society, regarding the Salta Province Bonds from Argentina. Having been issued in 1985 this was so called quasi-money which could only be used in the nothern province of Salta. I also have one in my collection which you can see here.
Radio New Zealand reports that banknotes bearing the signature of new Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler may not be in circulation till the end of next year. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand says all notes produced since Mr Wheeler took over the governor's position will have his signature on them.
But it will take some time to work through a stock of notes bearing the signature of previous governor, Alan Bollard, who left the bank after 10 years last September. A spokesperson said how quickly notes bearing the signature of the new governor will be in circulation, will depend on demand for new notes. Given expected levels of demand it could be late 2014 before the public see notes bearing Mr Wheeler's signature.
Graeme Wheeler was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in September 2012.
Two stories about the preparation for the festivities in Singapore and Macau regarding the Lunar New Year (10 februari 2013). Traditionally people want new and special banknotes as a gift for loved ones... but also to speculate.
Macau has authorised the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) and the Bank of China from 2012 to 2023 to issue a maximum of 20 million special notes with a face value of 10 patacas for the forthcoming Lunar Year of the Snake. Last year with the Year of the Dragon 'only' 10 million notes were printed which led to ridiculous speculation. Especially the banknotes with one or more 8's at the end of the serial number were sold for top prizes.
Singapore in the meantime has a tradition of presenting clean crisp new banknotes to family and friends for Hong Bao, the Lunar New Year. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has urged the people of Singapore to use "good as new" notes instead of the crispy new ones. In the past MAS would print and issue an additional 50 million notes to meet the temporary demand for uncirculated notes, but this was much more than the economy actually needed to function. By encouraging the public to accept these "good as new" recirculated notes, MAS hopes to cut its production costs and is also marketing the effort as good for the environment.
Happy Lunar New Year!
Samoa has issued a new type of their 100 Tala note. The image is more are less the same as the old note but this one has new signatures (Faumuina Tiatia Faaolatane Liuga and Maiava Atalina Ainuu-Enari) and there is pattern visible at the top and bottom of the note which wasn't there before.
Is it just me or does Samoa always nail it with their design? The last series of banknotes is stunning!
Pictures from another site, I'm looking for a 'clean' version without a link on it.
Banknotenews reports that Paraguay is going to issue a new 5000 guarani note made from polymer. This will be the first polymer note for Paraguay. According to this post the note will be issued on 14 January 2013. The new banknote appears to be dated 2011, and is probably printed by Canadian Bank Note Company.
Video after the click
Read More
The IBNS has published the nominees so far for the Banknote of the Year 2012. The nominees are (in random order):
My personal favourite of these six nominees is the Canadian 50 Dollar which I think is beautiful and innovative. But I'm also missing the gorgeous new notes from South Africa with Nelson Mandela on the front and one of the Big Five animals on the back. So I nominated the 200 Rand note today because I think it's worth at least to be nominated (see image below).
If you also want to nominate a banknote, you can do so until 31 January 2013. Banknotes nominated must have been issued to the public (specimens and non-circulating currencies are inelligble) for the first time during 2012, and must have artistic merit and/or innovative security features.
E-mail banknoteoftheyear@ibns.biz with the details, and your membership number (if possible please include a scan of the front and back of your nomination).
Besides the presentation of the new 5 euro yesterday the European Central Bank also had other news to report. The ECB said it removed 12,4% fewer counterfeit euro banknotes from circulation in 2012 than in the previous year. The bank withdrew about 531.000 forged notes compared with 606.000 in 2011.
The 20 euro and 50 euro notes continue to be the most forged (together 82,5% of all discovered fakes). The 100 euro banknote was the third-most counterfeited denomination (13%). A complete breakdown of the numbers:
"When compared with the number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation (on average 14.9 billion during the second half of 2012), the proportion of counterfeits remains very low" according to the ECB.
The majority (97.5%) of counterfeits recovered in the second half of 2012 were found in euro area countries, with only around 2% being found in EU Member States outside the euro area and 0.5% being found in other parts of the world.
All has been revealed!
Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), today unveiled the Europa series €5 banknote. The unveiling was the highlight of the opening of the “New Face of the Euro” exhibition, which is being held at the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt am Main from 11 January to 10 March 2013.
The new €5 banknote has benefited from advances in banknote technology since the first series was introduced over ten years ago. It includes some new and enhanced security features. The watermark and hologram display a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology – and hence the name of this series of banknotes. An eye-catching “emerald number” changes colour from emerald green to deep blue and displays an effect of the light that moves up and down.
Short raised lines on the left and right edges of the banknote make it easier to identify the banknote, especially for visually impaired people.
These security features are planned to be included in all the new banknotes. They are easy to check using the “feel, look and tilt” method.
The new series has the same “ages and styles” design and dominant colours as the first series. The €5 will be the first banknote to be issued, starting on 2 May 2013. The other denominations, i.e. €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500, will be introduced over the next few years, in ascending order.
The first series will initially circulate alongside the new banknotes, but will gradually be withdrawn and eventually cease to be legal tender. The date when this occurs will be announced well in advance. However, the banknotes of the first series will retain their value indefinitely and can be exchanged at euro area national central banks at any time.
Further information is available in a press kit and at www.newfaceoftheeuro.eu. This website also includes the “Euro Cash Academy”, a learning module which takes a playful approach to the new €5 and other euro banknotes. In addition, leaflets about the new €5 will be distributed to banks, shops and other businesses across the euro area in April 2013. All these measures should give the public and professional cash handlers an opportunity to learn about the new banknotes in good time and this should ensure a smooth introduction of the Europa series.
Another new security feature is the introduction of a security thread. The € symbol and the value of the banknote can be seen in tiny white lettering in that stripe:
Some downloads:
- Pictures (zip - < 1 MB)
- Press Kit (pdf)
- Footage of the new €5 banknote (design and security features) (zip - 357 MB)
- Footage of the production of the new €5 banknote (zip - 918 MB)
A rather funny story in New York Magazine about Jack Lew. In particular his signature. You might ask: what does it matter what the signature of the current chief of staff of president Obama looks like? Well, because mr. Lew is probably going to be the next Treasury Secretary of the United States and his signature will appear on the new dollar banknotes. So yes, it matters a little bit more than the average signature. What's so weird about it? Check for yourself in this photoshopped picture:
He wouldn't be the first Treasure Secretary who would change his John Hancock for his new job. The current Secretary Timothy Geithner also had to change his signature when he took up the job. You can view the before and after version in this interview. To see if any of the previous signatures were also a bit weird or ugly, you can view the entire list of signatures here.
I personally think Lew's signature is pretty cool!
Update 11-1-2013: President Obama jokes about the signature at the press conference announcing Lew's candidacy. He 'promises' that Lew will "make at least one letter legible in order not to debase our currency".
Update 12-1-2013: It just keeps on getting better. You can now see how Jack Lew would sign YOUR name by visiting this Jack Lew Signature Generator. LOL.
Set your clocks to 16:30 CET when the new 5 euro will be unveiled by Mario Draghi of the ECB.
What is the deal with Canada's polymer money? For some reason it keeps on getting bad press and nasty comments by angry users. Some of the recent articles I wrote or gathered:
- There was the issue with the naked women on the 20 dollar which a few people found offensive for some reason. They turned out to be part of a statue commemorating fallen Canadian soldiers in France. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story, I guess.
- Melting banknotes was the next issue. Polymer notes that melt in your hand, not in your mouth. Or something like that.
- Now we also have angry shopowners who complain that some vending machines don't accept the polymer notes. There are about half a million machines in Canada that need reprogramming and the Canadians have managed to do so with about 50% of them. Nice job, considering that dummy's of the new banknotes have been sent out months ago.
- Is that all? No, the new banknotes are also KILLING US with their germs! But wait, were there no germs on the old notes? Sure, but the polymer notes stick together so when people need to separate them, they lick their fingers. More so than with the old notes it seems. And so they infect the whole world with their nasty germs. If you're scared after reading this, try looking at your keyboard and mouse under a magnifier. It's generally speaking safer to lick a toilet seat than touch your co-workers computer stuff.
If you're interested in a more positive story on polymer notes, I suggest you look at this nice article from Scientific American that provides a bit of history and background on these little germ-infested, melting and sticky pieces of plastic.
I just saw this great numismatic product mentioned at banknotenews. It's a special currency set commemorating the 150th anniversary of the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
This information is from their website:
This limited edition two-note set features a Series 2009 $2 note from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a Series 2009 $5 note from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The Series 2009 $2 note bears a serial number beginning with "2012," to commemorate 150 years of pride, craftsmanship, and innovation. The Series 2009 $5 note begins with serial number "1862," to symbolize the origin of the BEP. For each set, the last four digits of the serial numbers on the $5 and $2 notes match.
This exquisitely crafted set includes a 52 page booklet, "150 Years of Pride, Craftsmanship, and Innovation." This informative booklet traces the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s rich history and evolution, and includes a certificate authenticating the enclosed notes as genuine United States currency.
Each note is protected by a clear, acid-free polymer sleeve and encased in an attractive folder.
Drawing: All customers who purchase the 150th Anniversary Currency Set during the first month of release will be entered into a drawing to win the opportunity to purchase one of the first 150 sets based on serialization. These first 150 sets will feature personally signed $2 and $5 notes by Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios. Customers will be enrolled into the drawing equal to the number of sets purchased during the one month enrollment period (December 11, 2012 – January 10, 2013). A quantity restriction of two sets will be imposed for drawing winners. Customers who win the drawing will not be permitted to return previously purchased sets in lieu of any set won and purchased via the drawing. Drawing winners will be contacted after January 11, 2013, via phone/email. Drawing winners are not obligated to purchase the signed 150th Anniversary Currency Sets.
The 150th Anniversary Currency Set is limited to 10,000 total units.
Bulk pricing is available for the 150th Anniversary Currency Set at a price of $44.95 per unit for quantities of 10 or more.
Sounds like a great gift to me!
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has recently issued an overstamped note to commemorate 100 years of Masonry in the Philippines. This note was originally available only in sheets of four uncut notes packaged in a folder. Since then, the BSP has begun issuing individual notes into circulation.
There have been several commemorative issues of this 100 Peso note. The list can be found here.
And after Somalia now Angola has also announced it will postpone the introduction of the new 5000 and 10.000 kwanza notes. They were initially scheduled for January 2013 but they will be issued later this year.
You can read more information about these notes in this post I wrote last month. A translation of the article mentioned above can be found here.
A story from war torn Somalia today. The Somali federal government announced that it would postpone the introduction of new Somali Shilling. These banknotes were printed in Sudan and were ordered by the previous Transitional Federal Government. The introduction has been postponed to "a later date".
This probably has something to do with the lack of centralized financial institutions in Somalia which has been plagued by civil war and unrest for so many years. Currently the only Somali currency in use is the 1000 Shilling note first issued in 1990 and as a second issue in 1996. Somaliland and Puntland, which are autonomous parts of Somalia, have introduced or tried to introduce new banknotes but the central government hasn't. For many years you couldn't even speak of a central government. The Somaliland currency is not internationally recognized (though the region is recognized as an autonomous region). Puntland announced last year it would introduce its own currency but hasn't yet. The lack in Somali currency even prompted local warlords and businessmen to print their own currency. The US dollar is also widely used in Somalia.
That question will be answered next week when on 10 January 2013 the ECB will unveil the design of the new 5 euro banknote. Don't expect to many changes though. As the ECB clearly states on the website for the new Europa series:
Like the first series, the new banknotes will feature the “ages and styles” design and show windows, doorways and bridges.
So in other words: the same (boring) design we have all come to love/hate (choose for yourself). The current banknotes are designed by Robert Kalina of the National Bank of Austria. For the second series the ECB has asked Reinhold Gerstetter to update the design. He is known for his work on the last series of German Marks (example of his 200 Mark, P47) and on the last series of Spanish Pesetas.
But what most people don't know, is that Reinhold Gerstetter has already designed euro banknotes years ago. The contest in which Robert Kalina was chosen as the winner to design the currect euro banknotes, also had several other contestants. One of them was Reinhold Gerstetter. He designed two different series for this competition. You can find the first series here and the second series here. A funny coincidence: the face of his 5 euro design (photo on the right) shows the image of Europa, which is also the leading theme for the second series of the euro banknotes.
Will the new banknotes look anything like his original design? Probably not, but we'll know for sure next week.
>> Link: All the original entries for the euro design competition in 1996
The central bank of Morocco has issued the new 25 dirham. According to this press release posted on 28 December 2012 (in french, or in the english translation by Google) 4.2 million notes have been issued to commemorate the 57th anniversary of Morocco's independance and also the 25th birthday of the inauguration of Dar-Assikkah (Mint).
A limited series of 200.000 notes numbered 00001000 to 20000000 have been reserved for collectors. The new banknote is the first to be printed on Durasafe. More information can be found in this post.
A nice article in the German newspaper Die Welt about the rigorous tests banknotes are put through before they're issued. If you click this link, the german article is automatically translated in english. If you want to read the original text in german, click here.
Do you sometimes have that feeling that you've made something really pretty like a painting of your dog and after it's done, somebody comes along and mentions that you've forgotten to paint a tail? That must have been the feeling the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) had when they unveiled their new 50 Dollar banknote with beautiful pictures of local birds on it.
Local birds? Not according to ornithologist David Wingate who stated that the bird on the banknote was in fact NOT the local white-tailed tropicbird but rather a red-billed tropicbird. So what did the BMA do? Did they destroy all the wrong banknotes and quickly issued the right ones? No. They stated that it was indeed the wrong bird but that this one looked much nicer against the background than the right bird...
I had the exact same feeling with our former dutch banknote. Instead of a firehouse, they should've put the Eiffel Tower on it. It's not a dutch building but that's just a minor detail of course.
Apparently the BMA had a change of heart because revised banknotes have been issued. This time with the right local bird on it and with a slightly different colour scheme. The prefix of the serial number has also been changed. The issue date for the old and new banknote remains the same: 1 January 2009.
On the left is the old banknote and on the right the revised version.
Source
As announced in this previous post, Fiji has issued its new banknotes yesterday 2 January 2013. The colourful notes have all been issued except for the 5 Dollar banknote. This is the only polymer note in this series and has been delayed until April for unknown reasons. But no worries: the Fiji people have plenty to admire in their new money.
More information and images can be found in this post.
That's the question Canadians are asking when reports surfaced last summer of banknotes which had melted because of exposure to heat. The notes in question were of course the new polymer notes. An woman from Ontario claimed that a few 100 Dollar bills melted together when they were stashed in her car near a heat source. Another woman claimed the same notes had melted together during a heatwave.
The Canadian Press ordered internal documentation on this case from Canada's central bank. Did this provide the answer to the 'burning' question? Not quite: "In response to a formal request from The Canadian Press, the Bank of Canada released 134 pages of internal records - almost completely blanked out."
"The bank stands by its statements made this summer that polymer bank notes cannot be affected by the types and levels of heat as has been suggested in last summer's news reports, and has seen no evidence to the contrary," bank spokesperson Jeremy Harrison said. He noted the bank had performed "extensive and rigorous tests" prior to issuing the notes, including exposing them to extremes of 140 C and -75 C.
The central bank blanked out most of the texts because "Disclosing details of behind-the-scenes discussions about tales of melting banknotes could endanger national security or international relations". But the bank might have a point though regarding the durability of the new polymer notes:
Since the polymer series began circulating in November 2011, there were 232 cases of mutilated polymer notes submitted to the bank through last October, the bank says. That compares to an average of 3,000 total cases of mutilated notes per year.
The note in question:
As announced Zambia issued new kwacha banknotes on 1 January 2013. Basically they kicked three zeros from their previous notes. This rebasing of their currency leaves with them K100, K50, K20, K10, K5 and K2 notes and coins for K1, 50 ngwee, 10 ngwee and 5 ngwee.
From 1 July 2013, the old currency will not be accepted anymore, but it will be exchangeable for a year thereafter for the new currency at the Bank of Zambia, commercial banks and designated agents. The new currency will get the symbol K. And what do the new notes look like? Click:
Update: sadly this rebasing of the kwacha has prompted some people to deceive others, particularly with the old and new K100 notes, as can be read in this article.
The old K100 banknote is a low value banknote and is now equivalent to 10 Ngwee in the redenominated banknotes while the new K100 banknote is equivalent to K100, 000 in the current family of banknotes.
A very happy 2013 to all of you!
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