The Central Bank of Moldavia has issued a commemorative banknote on 29 November 2013. The note commemorates the 20th anniversary of the national currency.
The note is the same as the existing 200 lei note but has an added line of text: "20 DE ANI". Only 200,000 copies have been printed.
Several news agencies report that the Central Bank of Tunisia has issued a new 10 dinar note yesterday 28 November 2013. The blue note's dimensions are 148 mm x 73 mm. It features images of Abou El Kacem Chebbi on the front and El Medersa El Bachia on the back. There are numerous security features added like intaglio printing, watermarks, a holographic strip, latent images, micro-letters, metallic parts, Omron circles and iridescent ink.
The new banknote will circulate concurrently with other issues.
Japan's Ministry of Finance has launched a promotion campaign in the hope of attracting orders to print banknotes for other economies, press agency Bernama reports:
Through the National Printing Bureau under its jurisdiction, the ministry hopes to attract such orders by highlighting Japan's cutting-edge anti-counterfeit technologies, sources said. The ministry is also offering a service for printing passports. Currently, the bureau prints Japanese bank notes. In the post-World War II period, Japan printed paper money for South Korea during the Korean War but has no other experience in printing money for other countries.
The bureau has set up a sales office to promote its services to governments and central banks overseas. It has sent officials to a number of emerging economies including Mongolia, Palau and Bhutan and plans to make sales efforts in other countries. The bureau is studying whether there are any plans by other countries to change their bank notes and solicit bids, the sources added.
Article from 23 April 2013: The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced it will stop the production of polymer notes and will return to paper banknotes. The main reason for this step is the fading of the banknotes, especially the smaller denominations. The Central Bank had organised numerous campaigns educating the public on the use of banknotes but apparently to no avail.
The deputy governor has announced that production of new polymer notes has already been cancelled. By the middle of of 2013 the bank will begin producing paper money again, starting with the lower denominations.
Update 27 november 2013: Nigeria has again confirmed that the production of polymer notes will be cancelled. "The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signed a deal in 2006 with Australia's Securency International to print lower more-circulated units of the naira in polymer, while higher denominations were kept in paper form. But six years down the line -- and after allegations that the manufacturer bribed foreign officials to secure contracts, including in Nigeria -- the CBN said it was being forced to reverse the policy."
The decision to switch back to paper notes is questioned by many experts since the current trend is to convert to polymer. The issuing of paper notes is expected to begin in 2014 with the new notes printed by the state-run Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company.
Joyous tidings dear readers for I, Steven Bron, have added the 200th country to my collection. And the 201st! I have also managed to get one of the best looking banknotes issued this year: the new Canadian 5 dollar. So a very good update! Four new notes have been added, starting with the two newcomers:
The European Central Bank had already announced that the new 10 euro note would be issued in 2014. Now they've given a new date to look forward to: 13 January 2014. On that day the design of the new banknote will be unveiled.
The ECB announced this happy news today at a seminar launching a Eurosystem Partnership Programme which has been set up for banknote equipment manufacturers and suppliers as well as clients and users.
This will be the second issue in the new Europa series. The new note will be issued later next year. When exactly? The new 5 euro note was presented on 10 January 2013 so if they keep more or less the same presentation and issue dates, you would expect the new 10 euro around May 2014. At this site however the ECB says it will "distribute leaflets about the new banknotes to points of sale across the euro area at the end of June 2014, ensuring cash handlers have ample opportunity to prepare for their circulation." So this probably means the new 10 euro will be available in the second half of 2014, even "after the summer".
After last weeks new addition of Tannu Tuva I received a banknote from another new country this week and again it's a pretty unknown note issuing 'country' to most people: Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon's official name is: collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. It's a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near Canada. It is the only remnant of the former colonial empire of New France that remains under French control. The islands are situated at the entrance of Fortune Bay, which extends into the southern coast of Newfoundland, near the Grand Banks.
As you can see in the scan the note is damaged and normally I wouldn't buy a note like that. The thing is though: banknotes from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon are pretty rare and therefore pretty expensive. This note still looks very decent (the non-damaged parts are almost UNC) and I could get this for a bargain. So I present you: the 20 francs (P24) from country number 199!
There are rumours circulating that Macedonia will put Nobel peace prize winner Mother Teresa on a new banknote. This would coincide with the naming of one of the most important autoroutes in Macedonia after her.
These decisions are expected to be approved by the government of Macedonia and this has been declared by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in an interview for the Indian newspaper Times of India. Prime Minister Gruevski has stressed that this idea of his will soon receive the green light in the government meeting.
The Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, M.C., commonly known as Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), was an Albanian-born, Indian Roman Catholic Religious Sister. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. They run hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; children's and family counseling programmes; orphanages; and schools. Members of the order must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the fourth vow, to give "Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor".
Mother Teresa was the recipient of numerous honours including the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. In late 2003, she was beatified, the third step toward possible sainthood, giving her the title "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta". A second miracle credited to her intercession is required before she can be recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church. Admired and respected by many, she has also been accused of failing to provide medical care or painkillers, misusing charitable money, and maintaining positive relationships with dictators.
Guyana decided last year that a new banknote of 5000 dollar would be introduced. The current highest denomination is 1000 dollar. Now the Bank of Guyana has announced the date the new note will be issued: 9 December 2013.
Bank of Guyana Deputy Governor, Dr Gobin Ganga said that an awareness campaign would be launched before the note goes into circulation. The Bank of Guyana said the new note would significantly reduce the number of notes that it would be required to process in the fast approaching holiday season.
Some of the features of the new note:
After the nice new note from Rhodesia I received earlier this week another great addition to my collection arrived yesterday. Country number 198: Tannu Tuva! Before I started collecting banknotes I had never even heard of this nation or seen its banknotes. Some background information seems in order.
The Tuvan People's Republic (or People's Republic of Tannu Tuva 1921 – 1944) was a partially recognized independent state in the territory of the former Tuvan protectorate of Imperial Russia also known as Uryankhaisky Krai. It was a satellite state of the Soviet Union that is now known as the Tuva Republic within the Russian Federation. The Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic were the only countries to recognize its independence.
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Communist troops took Tuva in January 1920. The chaos accompanying this era allowed the Tuvans to again proclaim their independence. On 14 August 1921, the Bolsheviks (supported by Russia) established a Tuvan People's Republic, called Tannu Tuva until 1926. Tannu refers to the Tannu-ola Mountains while Tuva is derived from the ethnicity Tuvan. The capital Khem-Beldir was eventually renamed Kyzyl ('red' in Tuvan). A treaty between the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic in 1926 affirmed the country’s independence. No other countries formally recognized it, although it appeared on maps and globes produced in the United States.
The area that was the Tuvan People's Republic is now known as Tyva Republic within the Russian Federation.
Hurrah! Yesterday marked the 90th anniversary of the end of German inflation.
Here's a nice story on the background of this devestating time in German history. I also highly recommend this very readable Wikipedia page on this period and its economic and political background.
Remember the coming Lebanese commemorative note of 50,000 pounds marking the 70th anniversary of the country's independence which will be issued on November 22nd? Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought the design looked like a bad photoshop job.
It now appears that the new note will have another flaw: a spelling error. As Reuters reports: "The French-language face of the special issue 50,000 pound note, which is worth about $33, spells 'independence' as it is written in English, rather than the French 'independance'."
Wow, this new note looks like a real winner...
Update: According to the Lebanese Daily Star demand for the new note is huge. Due to the controversy lots of people want the new note so the resale price on sites like eBay is expected to go sky high.
Exactly one year ago it was 'absolutely certain' that larger denominations of 200 and 500 manat would be issued in Azerbaijan. Where are they now? Certainly not on the website of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan where only images of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 manat can be seen.
Recently there were once again rumours of new banknotes to be issued, this time of 3 and 200 manat. Chairman of the Central Bank Elman Rustamov however has denied that such banknotes will be issued. There is according to Rustamov no reason for a larger denomination or a 3 manat note. The current set of denominations is said to be ideal.
Let's wait for the next rumour!
According to this news report (google translate) from 4 November 2013 the Bank of Guatemala has issued a new version of its 1 quetzal note with issue date 23 November 2011 and new features like a portrait in the window and a new signature.
This will also be the final issue because the note will be replaced with a coin to reduce costs. The unit price of a note is more than twice what a coin costs. The notes were printed by the French company Oberthur Fiduciaire.
This is unfortunate for us collectors, especially with an interest in polymer money, because this means one banknote less to look out for.
Banknotenews.com reports that in August this year the parliament of the disputed area of South Ossetia has passed a law (google translate) allowing the National Bank of South Ossetia to issue banknotes denominated in Russian rubles.
Some background information from wikipedia:
South Ossetia is a disputed region and partly recognised state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR. South Ossetians declared independence from Georgia in 1990, calling themselves the Republic of South Ossetia. The Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to retake the region by force. This led to the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The latter conflict led to the Russia–Georgia war, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full de facto control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. In the wake of the 2008 South Ossetia War, Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru and Tuvalu recognised South Ossetia's independence. Georgia does not recognise the existence of South Ossetia as a political entity, including most of the area in its Shida Kartli region. Georgia considers South Ossetia to be occupied by the Russian army.
We'll see if this means that this list of banknote issuing countries, area's and entities will get one more member.
The Central Bank of Honduras has updated (google translate) the design of its lempiras banknotes with braille and raised bars in order to help the blind identify the different notes. The new notes also have an issue date of 1 March 2012 on them.
Surprisingly the 20 lempiras note which had previously been issued on polymer has been reissued as a paper note. I would think that one polymer note is pretty distinguishable from the rest of the (paper) denominations if you can't see but apparently the Central Bank thought otherwise. The new notes are printed by the French company Oberthur Fiduciaire.
A leaflet with all the new notes can be found here. The new notes as shown in the leaflet (hence the black lines which of course don't show on the real notes):
Indonesia plans to redenominate its rupiah banknotes from 1 January 2014. According to this article (google translate) the new banknotes will get a small design update and the denomination will have three 0's less. After the transition and a short time period where people can get used to the new denomination a new set of banknotes will be issued with new portraits. These notes with the new design will probably be issued on 17 August 2014. The Bank Indonesia has pointed out that the old notes will remain legal tender for the next 10 years side by side with the new notes.
The plan has yet to be approved by the parliament though.
Images of the proposed new banknotes before, and after the redenomination. The notes on the right show the proposed new design:
Update: The latest news on this issue suggests that a redenomination won't take place before 2015 but more likely it will around 2020. More news to be found here (translation).
Update 1 Agust 2014: the new series of banknotes will be issued from 1 January 2018.
Myanmar (or Burma as the country is still called by a lot of countries) will probably issue banknotes with new faces in the future. The parliament of Myanmar specifically asked for the return of the portrait of General Aung San on the banknotes of lower denominations.
General Bogyoke Aung San (13 February 1915 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, founder of the modern Burmese army and considered to be the Father of modern-day Burma. He was responsible for bringing Burma's independence from British colonial rule in Burma, but was assassinated six months before independence. He is recognized as the leading architect of independence, and the founder of the Union of Burma. Affectionately known as "Bogyoke" (General), Aung San is still widely admired by the Burmese people, and his name is still invoked in Burmese politics to this day. Aung San had a daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now a world famous Burmese politician and the recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize.
The image of General Aung San on an older banknote from my own collection:
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has issued a commemorative note today, 15 November 2013. The 500 rupees note has been issued to mark the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka from 15th to 17th November 2013. From the press release (doc):
The size, colour and the security features of the Commemorative note are same as in the current circulating Rs. 500 note in the same series with the following changes only.
On the front of the note:
A quantity of 5 million notes will be issued and the serial numbers of the notes will be from T/51 000001- T/55 1000000. A limited number of early serial numbers will sold in a folder.
Thanks to an early birthday gift I received 6 new banknotes from Russia yesterday. Isn't it nice when your aunt goes on holiday to Russia and doesn't forget the hobby of her nephew? Here are the new notes in chronological order:
All the images of the new notes can be found on the Russia page of my collection.
The National Bank of Cambodia has issued a new commemorative note of 2000 riel. Here’s the press release so good luck translating that 
. The images below are from banknotenews.com.
The note has been issued commemorating its independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has been issued on 8 November.
This week I received a new note I bought on eBay. Not only was it a bargain, it is also the 197th country in my collection! Just three more to go and I can order cake to celebrate the magical 200.
This note is from Rhodesia, the country which was never recognized and which existed for only 14 years. It was considered a de facto successor state to the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia. After a bloody civil war, in which the white government fought with two black nationalist groups, the country finally settled for peace in 1980 and renamed itself Zimbabwe.
This is a 1 dollar note from 1970 and has pick number 30a.
With the issuing of the new 5 and 10 dollars notes today the Bank of Canada has completed its beautiful new polymer series. The new notes were announced earlier this year on 30 april with a presentation from the International Space Station where commander Chris Hadfield showed the new 5 dollar note with its space theme. The 10 dollar note shows the image of a train and symbolizes the joining of the east and west of Canada by rail.
An interesting detail is that despite rumours the signature on both notes is still of the former Governor of the Bank of Canada M.J. Carney and not the current Governor S. Poloz.
Update: Well, it goes to show that you never really can tell what a banknote will look like before you actually have one in your hand. Banknotenews.com has one and what does it tell us? There actually IS a signature of Stephen Poloz on the 5 dollar note (as predicted)! The Bank of Canada however continues to show a note with the signature of Mark Carney on its site. Does that perhaps mean there are two signature varieties on the market? Picture below is from Banknotenews.com:
5 dollar
Portrait: Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister from 1896 to 1911
Signatures: T. Macklem, S Poloz
Size: 152.4 x 69.85 mm
10 dollar
Portrait: Sir John A. Macdonald, Prime Minister from 1867–1873 and 1878–1891
Signatures: T. Macklem, M. J. Carney
Size: 152.4 x 69.85 mm
The complete new polymer series
The South African Reserve Bank has issued an update of its current series of banknotes which was introduced last year. To mark the first anniversary of the release of the new series with the image of Nelson Mandela there has been an update in the design. A new security feature has been added on the front and the back of all the notes in the form of "tiny dots".
These dots are actually called an EURion constellation and were invented by the Japanese Omron Corporation. It consists of a pattern of five small circles, which is repeated across areas of the banknote at different orientations. Photocopiers can recognize these patterns and will give a warning or even refuse to copy the banknote. The security feature is widely used on banknotes like the euro, the US dollar and many others.
"Enhancing features on banknotes is an on-going process to maintain the highest level of quality and security. This is in line with international best practice," explained SARB Governor Gill Marcus.
The updated notes will be released from today, 6 November. The old design notes will remain legal tender and continue to circulate.
Old note:
New note with detail of the new feature:
After the turmoil in the United Kingdom with the presumed absence of women on their banknotes (which was corrected when the Bank of England announced Jane Austen would be on the next 10 pound note), it seems Canada is the new target of angry women. With the introduction of the new 5 and 10 dollar next Thursday, the new polymer series is complete but has no recognizable women on the notes (except for the Queen of course).
The Governor of the Bank of Canada Stephen Poloz has said that he thinks the argument is valid and should be looked into in the future when the current series will be replaced. However, that could take a decade or longer. He did receive 22,000 signatures urging him to reconsider.
Another interesting fact from the news article is that the signature of Poloz will be on the new 5 dollar note. The 10 dollar note probably still has the signature of his predecessor Mark Carney.
So apparently the Spanish have found a new way to show their disaproval of politics and the banks. More and more banknotes are circulating with angry messages written on them. An innovative way to spread your message but bad news for us collectors, I guess.
Update: Tunisians also use this form of protest it seems.
At Kickstarter a new project is trying to gather funds: a documentary about the US 2 dollar banknote. As a European I never realize this but apparently this banknote is quite fascinating. Some ignorant shop owners have even turned customers away believing the note to be fake! Well, John Bennardo is also fascinated by them and wants to make a documentary about the note.
Still 5 days to get to the goal of $18,200!
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, it was announced that today two new commemorative notes of 2 and 100 kina will be issued.
The design of the new notes will be te same as the regular 2 and 100 kina but a seal will be added to the front of the note commemorating the occassion. Below is a video of the presentation of the two new notes.
The regular 2 and 100 kina:
Yesterday the Russian Central Bank officially presented the commemorative banknote of 100 rubles commemorating the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. The front of the note shows the image of a snowboarder jumping in the air. The designer of the note, design student Paul Bushuev, said the image represented something new, youthful and modern.
Some bloggers however may have discovered the origin of the image. It wasn't designed by Bushuev himself but was taken from a free stockphoto site. The same image has also been used in an (oh sweet irony) online photoshop course and an advertisement for backpacks.
Paul Bushuev won the competition for designing the new note and was awarded 30,000 rubles (about 690 euro).
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