Bahrain introduces two updated banknotes

The Central Bank of Bahrain has issued updated notes of 10- and 20-dinar. The updated notes have enhanced security features (like SPARK and Motion thread) and the notes have lines added for the visually impaired. The rest of the design is the same as the existing circulating notes. 



Steven Dinsdag 20 September 2016 at 10:14 am | | news | Geen reacties
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A fountain pen note!

As some of you may recall I wrote a little post about another hobby of yours truly: fountain pens. I wrote that I couldn't find a banknote with a fountain pen on it and this eventually led to a great gift by Mujand with my very own fantasy banknote which you can see here

The story doesn't end there however.

Yesterday I received a reply from Duncan Reid from De la Rue pointing out that a banknote with a fountain pen DOES exist. Behold, the 1999 note from Cape Verde of 2,000-escudos (P66) featuring the Cape Verdian poet Eugénio Tavares on the front and a part of the poem "Morna de Aguada" on the back designed by De la Rue. On the front and back we can see a fountain pen as a front-to-back see-through register, overprinted on a hologram and as part of the security thread. 

Great find and thanks for the tip!


Steven Dinsdag 20 September 2016 at 08:57 am | | fun | Twee reacties
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Bolivia won't issue 500-bolivianos note after all

Contrary to earlier reports the Banco Central de Bolivia has announced that for the new banknote series NO note of 500-bolivianos will be issued. That note would have been the only new denomination in the next series which was announced in May 2016 and will be issued to the public in 2018.

So that makes the design of the new notes as follows:

Steven Vrijdag 16 September 2016 at 12:23 pm | | news | Geen reacties
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Indonesia announces the faces of its new series

The Jakarta Post has an article about the next Indonesian banknote series to be issued later this year by the Bank Indonesia (although that is hard to believe considering earlier reports that a new series won't be issued until 2020). President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has decided the portraits of 12 national heroes will feature on the new series. The new notes will also be issued in the name of "Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia" (The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia) instead of the "Bank Indonesia".

The following 12 people will be honored on the new banknotes:

The exact issue date is not known as far as I could tell but apparently there are no plans for a redenomination.

Update 16-12-2016: the Jakarta Globe reports that the new notes will enter circulation from 19 December 2016.

Steven Vrijdag 16 September 2016 at 12:08 pm | | news | Geen reacties
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A look inside the vaults of the Bank of England

On Tuesday 13 September 2016 the new polymer 5-pound note will be issued to the British public at last. Because of that historic moment a very nice article has appeared on the site of The Telegraph. A look inside the vaults of the Bank of England and a rare insight into the process of getting the new banknote into the hands of the British citizens. I especially liked the photos of places most people never get to see. 

The oldest banknote from 1697 and the new polymer 5-pound. (Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley)

Steven Zondag 11 September 2016 at 10:02 pm | | links | Geen reacties
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Notgeld

Recenty I finished the excellent book "Germany - Memories of a Nation" by Dr. Neil MacGregor. If you're interested in Germany or history in general, I highly recommend this richly illustrated book. From the point of view of a banknote collector it's also interesting because a whole chapter is dedicated to the era of Notgeld, issued during the First World War and especially in the first years after the war. This chapter is illustrated with a beautiful selection from the British Museum of the many, many different local notes issued by German towns in that period. 

I've added a special page for my Notgeld collection (dropdown menu to the right) where I don't show every individual note I have but rather the different towns I have notes from. I have local money from German towns, Austrian towns but also from German towns which nowadays are in Poland. Proving once again to me that collecting banknotes can be a fascinating history lesson. 

Steven Zaterdag 10 September 2016 at 3:23 pm | | site info | Twee reacties
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Russia announces possible themes for new banknotes

The Bank of Russia has announced the shortlist of 10 selected designs eligble to be on the new 200- and 2,000-ruble notes. For these two notes the Russian public was asked for the first time to nominate cities and regions to be portrayed on the new banknotes.

The final 10 cities/regions and the symbols representing those places are (links added by me):

The two winning themes will be announced on 7 October 2016. The new notes are expected to be issued at the end of 2017.

My personal favorites which I think would make the most interesting banknotes are the Far East (yay, space notes!) and Irkutsk themes.

Steven Woensdag 07 September 2016 at 11:14 am | | news | Geen reacties
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Bank of England Museum reopens Banknote Gallery

If you plan on going to London in the near future, you can now visit the Banknote Gallery of the Bank of England Museum. The gallery has been completely refurbished and its opening today coincides with the launch of the new and first polymer 5-pound banknote next week.

Historic notes, sketches and unique banknote artwork, printing plates and test prints will all be on display.

In the new gallery you can:

  • Discover the origins of paper money in ancient China, and how the ‘running cash’ notes of sixteenth-century Britain became the precursors to our modern banknotes. 
  • Find out the story behind the ‘Inimitable Note’ competition: a quest at the beginning of the 1800s to create a banknote that couldn’t be copied, and the many intricate and beautiful designs that were the result.
  • Explore the complex designs that make banknotes difficult to counterfeit, and how cutting-edge technology is used to create the Bank of England’s newest note, the polymer £5.
  • Trace the lifecycle of your banknotes from initial design and manufacture to destruction and recycling.

Steven Woensdag 07 September 2016 at 10:53 am | | links | Geen reacties
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Australia issues first banknote of new series

The Reserve Bank of Australia has issued the first banknote of its new series of banknotes on 1 September 2016. Below is a video of the new 5-pound banknote 'in action'.

I'm still not too crazy about the colors they used (remember the 'clown puke'?) but it looks a lot more interesting compared to the photos we saw earlier this year.

Steven Vrijdag 02 September 2016 at 12:11 pm | | news | Geen reacties
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Happy birthday euro!

On the 30 August 2016 the euro celebrated the fact that 15 years ago the euro banknotes were first shown to the public by the first president of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg.

Whatever your opinion is on the euro, Europa or the EU, this was absolutely a historic day. 

Steven Donderdag 01 September 2016 at 07:14 am | | news | Geen reacties
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