The National Bank of Ukraine has announced they have plans to issue a series of commemorative banknotes dedicated to the centenary of the Ukrainian revolution and the introduction of the Ukrainian monetary unit, the hryvnia.
For the design of this series they have some very cool plans I think: they will incorporate the design of several of the banknotes issued between 1917 and 1921. I know countries like Thailand and Taiwan have done something similar in the past which resulted in great looking banknotes.
The Bank of Botswana has announced on its Facebook page that from 1 February 2018 a new polymer 10-pula will be issued to the public. This will be the first polymer banknote for Botswana. The Bank states that the change to polymer is due to persistent public concerns regarding the poor quality of the current circulating 10-pula paper banknote.
While going over some old news reports I realised that I forgot to post about the new 1,000-forint banknote the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary) has planned to enter into circulation on 1 March 2018.
The redesigned note resembles the current 1,000-forint banknote but has added design elements and security features. This note is part of a larger plan to redesign all current notes. More information can be found in this beautiful and very informative leaflet.
Do you remember the news from Kenya where the Constitution adopted in 2010 prohibits the use of a person’s portrait on banknotes? The Central Bank of Kenya has ever since been struggeling to get the new family of banknotes out. Kenya has had problems with printer De la Rue which led to delays with the issuing of the new currency.
According to this article in the Standard Digital Kenya will finally get its new banknotes and coins by the second quarter of 2018 (in June at the latest). The article however also shows that the dispute with De la Rue hasn't been resolved yet. So let's not bet all our money on June 2018 yet, shall we?
Update 5-1-2018: Did you listen to me? Haven't you been betting on a Q2 introduction? Good! Because as somewhat expected the notes have been delayed even further according to this article. The High Court froze the contract that was awarded to De La Rue for the printing of new banknotes. These notes without portraits of political or historical figures, as mandated by the Kenyan Constitution, will therefore NOT be available by mid 2018...
Update 10-1-2018: Even worse for De la Rue: now the contract has been cancelled altogether. The court "...ordered that all four tenders should be re-evaluated within 14 days. The three other bidders were Giesecke & Devrient of Germany, Sweden’s Crane Currency and Oberthur Fiduciaire of France." Both the Central Bank and De la Rue announced they would appeal the decision.
More news from Armenia. The Central Bank of Armenia has released the concept design of the new series which will be issued from 22 November 2018, on the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the national currency.
These new notes were designed by Edward Kurginyan, Vardan Vardanyan and Suren Simonyan. In the new series we can see that the 100,000-dram note is not present but the Central Bank stated that the current notes will continue to be used. As for the new 2,000-dram note: that one will probably be released earlier than 22 November 2018 because of the high demand for this denomination.
The concept design looks a lot like a fantasy note but I'm sure the final design will be toned down a bit as it usually is. But to be honest, I actually like the concept design a lot so I hope they won't dial it down too much.
The Central Bank of Armenia has introduced a new commemorative banknote of 500-dram on 22 November 2017. The note commemorates the Ark of Noah which according to the Bible came to rest upon the mount Ararat in Armenia after the flood.
The note shows on the front a relic from Noah’s Ark in green-gold Kinegram and the Etchmiadzin Cathedral building (the oldest cathedral in the world), Mount Ararat and a flying dove with an olive branch in it beak (a symbol that the flood was over and land was returning). The back of the note shows again Mount Ararat and some animals and birds with Noah and his family. We can also see a flying eagle in the sky.
The note measures 140 x 76 mm, is a hybrid composite and was printed by Giesecke & Devrient.
The design of the blue note now looks more like the other banknotes from the current series: on the front is the monument "Kazak Eli" on the right side of the banknote and images of the flying doves in the bottomcenter. The back shows the Caspian Sea and the map of Kazakhstan. Also some birds can be seen flying.
It seems not only rockets and propaganda are flying out of North Korea but also a new commemorative banknote.
It's actually the same 5,000-won note we already know but it has been overprinted with a text commemorating the first wife of the founder of North Korea Kim-Il Sung: Kim Jong-suk. She is the grandmother of the current leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un and was born in 1917.
On 7 November 2017 the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan has introduced a new commemorative note of 2,000-som. The note has been issued to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the independence of the Kyrgyz Republic and the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the national currency. The design reflects the history of the formation of Kyrgyz statehood: from ancient times to the present day.
From the press release: "On the front side of the banknote the main image is the monument to the national hero Manas, who united the Kyrgyz tribes, which are represented on the banknote in the form of stylized ornamental figures. The image of the symbol "Umai Ene", personifies the oldest deity, which is the progenitor of all Turkic peoples. The image of the traditional dwelling of nomadic peoples - yurts - is a symbol of prosperity and well-being.
On the reverse side of the banknote the main image is the tree as a symbol of the life and prosperity of the Kyrgyz people. The image of the majestic mountain Khan-Tengri symbolizes the independent spirit of the Kyrgyz people, striving for high achievements and successes. A floating golden eagle against the background of the unique mountain lake Issyk-Kul, symbolizes the openness and freedom of the Kyrgyz people."
The main security elements are:
Color hologram. When the banknote is tilted from left to right, the figure "25" changes to the national pattern, and vice versa.
Micro-optical band. When you change the viewing angle of the banknote on the strip, the three-dimensional depth effect, the volume effect, the radiance effect and the motion effect become visible.
Hidden image. When the banknote is tilted, rainbow bands appear.
An iridiscent strip on the reverse side of the banknote is represented by a two-color image of a soaring bird.
Watermark. Three-dimensional multi-tone watermark, an electrotype of digital value.
Pass-through register. Overlapping images on the front and backsides of the banknote make the number "2000".
The Reserve Bank of Malawi is planning to issue a new banknote of 5,000-kwacha. The current highest denomination in Malawi is the 2,000-kwacha note introduced about a year ago. However, this note has lost a lot of value making it necessary for the citizens of Malawi to carry a lot of banknotes with them.
Time will tell if the 5,000-kwacha will be the last new denomination or if perhaps a future 10,000-kwacha note will also be necessary.
Recently I fantasized what the new Russian banknotes would have looked like had the Soviet Union not collapsed. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution and you bet those old Commies would have marked that occassion with a nice commemorative banknote. Sadly, or luckily depending on your political orientation, the Soviet Union has ceased to exist so no commemorative banknotes from Russia this year celebrating Lenin & friends.
But does that mean that this historical event isn't remembered at all for us notaphilists? No. Leave it up to the Transnistrian Republican Bank to remember, remember the 7th of November. Or 25 October according to the old Julian calendar. Their flag kind of gave it away right?
The tiny break-away state which is formally a part of Moldova and isn't recognized by any official UN-member state, has issued two new commemorative notes of 1- and 5-ruble celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution. No more that 5,000 pieces of each denomination will be issued. A total of 2,983 pieces of each denomination were issued into circulation. 2,017 pieces of each denomination are packaged in booklets (two banknotes in a set) and sold as a numismatic product.
The two new banknotes have a similar size and design as the banknotes which were issued in 2012. There is however a special marking on the right side of the banknote showing the Order of the October Revolution with the inscriptions: "100 YEARS" at the top and "OCTOBER REVOLUTION" (both in Russian of course) at the bottom.
Dictator President Maduro has announced that the Central Bank of Venezuela will issue a new note of 100,000-bolivares to the public. Its worth is very low since the country (which potentially could be the richest country in South America) is struck by financial, political and economical chaos and hyperinflation. Like everything else in Venezuela, they seem to have f***ed up this banknote as well...
The design of the 'new' banknote is very similar to the 'old' 100-bolivares note apart from the color. The same image of Simon Bolivar and the birds on the back has been used. The number on the note is also a simple 100 but the real value can be read beneath the number. I'm sure that won't cause any confusion...
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has decided that a new 50-dollar banknote will be introduced honoring its late Governor Sir K. Dwight Venner. His image will be displayed as a permanent tribute to his legacy.
"The late Honourable Sir K Dwight Venner, former Governor of the ECCB, served the ECCB member countries and the wider Caribbean with distinction over a 26-year period. As a lasting tribute to his sterling contribution, the ECCB engaged the services of De La Rue, the authorised printer of its circulation banknotes, to prepare design concepts for a new $50 note bearing the image of Sir Dwight, in addition to the standard security features of the existing banknotes."
A date of issue hasn't been mentioned yet.
The ECCB is the Central Bank for Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Anguilla.
The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV) has introduced the last note of the new series. This 500-vatu note is printed on polymer just like the other notes in the new series.
From the press release: "Like the new VT5000 banknote released earlier in July, the new VT500 note will also incorporate an effective tactile feature to assist visually impaired people. The new banknote incorporates the theme of 'culture' and features the frontage of the original 'Nakamal blong ol Jifs', and other cultural activities such as sand drawing and traditional dancing. In continuation with existing practice of replaced paper notes, the new banknote will co-circulate the existing VT500 paper note as legal tenders. RBV will continue to withdraw all the replaced paper notes from public circulation until such time when the Bank decides to demonetize them."
Vanuatu’s banknotes are made by Note Printing Australia Limited, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Update 19-11-2017: better pictures (source). They look pretty nice right?
Hello, I'm Steven Bron and welcome to my blog on banknotes! Here you can find: breaking news, background articles and of course my personal collection (world notes or at least one from each country, commemorative notes and polymer notes).
The National Bank of Ukraine has announced they have plans to issue a series of commemorative banknotes dedicated to the centenary of the Ukrainian revolution and the introduction of the Ukrainian monetary unit, the hryvnia. 
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