Hong Kong announces A LOT of new banknotes

Very interesting news from Hong Kong in this press release. It seems we can expect a bus load of new banknotes coming soon: "The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and the three note-issuing banks (NIBs) (Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited) announced today (Tuesday) the issue of the 2018 new series Hong Kong banknotes.

Consistent with the current series, the new series will consist of five denominations, each adopting the same colour scheme. It is the first time that the thematic subjects on the reverse side of the NIBs’ new series banknotes are standardised for each denomination to facilitate easy recognition by the public. The selected thematic subjects represent different aspects of Hong Kong as an international metropolis, featuring its rhythm of life, recreation and entertainment, as well as its rich natural and cultural heritage. The five denominations depict respectively the position of Hong Kong as international financial centre (HK$1,000), the spectacular Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark (HK$500), Cantonese opera as our art and cultural legacy (HK$100), butterflies that inhabit Hong Kong (HK$50), and the popular dim sum and tea culture (HK$20). For aesthetic presentation of the subject and easy distinction from previous series, the reverse side of the banknote is in vertical orientation instead of the traditional horizontal layout.

The designs of all five denominations were unveiled today. The HK$1,000 and HK$500 notes will be put into circulation in the last quarter of 2018 and early 2019 respectively, and the lower denominations of HK$100, HK$50 and HK$20 will be ready for issue in batches between 2019 and 2020.

The new banknotes have incorporated advanced security features. Their placement on the banknotes is uniform across all five denominations. The six key features are:

  • Dynamic shimmering pattern – when the note is tilted, the shimmering ring in the pattern moves correspondingly.
  • Windowed metallic thread – when the note is tilted, the large and small rings on the metallic thread move correspondingly.
  • Enhanced watermark – the theme of the bauhinia flower is used such that the flower, leaves, bud and denomination numeral can be seen when the note is held up to the light.
  • Fluorescent see-through denomination – the patterns on the front and back, which are of a single colour under normal light, will appear as two fluorescent colours when exposed to ultraviolet light.  The patterns on the front and back fit perfectly to form the denomination numeral when the note is held up to the light.
  • Concealed denomination – when the note is tilted under the light, the denomination numeral hidden in the background can be seen.
  • Embossed feel – raised printing gives the note a strong embossed feel by touch."

OK... So here are the images of banknotes we have so far:

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation





Standard Chartered Bank





Bank of China





Steven Donderdag 26 Juli 2018 at 11:25 am | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags:

India announces new 100-rupees note

The Reserve Bank of India has announced that a new 100-rupees note will soon be issued.

The new note shows the familiar portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on the front with the Rani Ki Vav stepwell in the back. The note measures 142 x 66 mm and its colors will be lavender, dark grey and light orange.

Steven Donderdag 26 Juli 2018 at 11:13 am | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags:

Solomon Islands: new note and move to polymer

The Governor of the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands Denton Rarawa has announced that a new 5-dollar note will be issued in the first quarter of 2019.

The new note will be made from polymer. The Governor also announced that all legal tender banknotes will eventually be made of polymer.

Steven Donderdag 26 Juli 2018 at 11:07 am | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: ,

Solomon Islands issue commemorative banknote

The Central Bank of the Solomon Islands announced in May that it would issue a new commemorative banknote of 40 dollars in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the country's independence. 

The new note was issued on 5 July 2018 and is shown here:

Steven Donderdag 26 Juli 2018 at 10:58 am | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: ,

Costa Rica goes polymer

The Banco Central de Costa Rica has announced its decision to change all the current denominations currently printed on cotton paper to polymer substrate.

The bank’s decision was based on "the high counterfeiting rate of the current cotton paper banknotes, versus the null counterfeiting rate of the 1000 colones notes printed on Guardian polymer, which have been in circulation since 2011." The humid climate, the conservation of the environment and the fact polymer notes cost less in the long run because of higher durability are also factors why the BCCR supports the change to polymer. 

Steven Donderdag 26 Juli 2018 at 10:51 am | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: ,

Poland announces commemorative 20-zlotych note

The Narodowi Bank Polski (National Bank of Poland) has announced a new commemorative banknote of 20 zlotych commemorative of the Centennial of Polish Independence this year. The banknote will be issued on 31 August 2018 in an issue of only 50,000 pieces. 

The front of the note shows Józef Pilsudski and the badge of the Polish Military Organization, the cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and the badge of the 1st Legion Brigade. The back of the note shows the Polish flag and an image of a legionary eagle holding a shield of Amazons in its claws. The dimensions of the note are 150 x 77 mm. 


Steven Donderdag 26 Juli 2018 at 10:38 am | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: ,

Hungary announces redesigned 500-forint note

The Central Bank of Hungary is replacing all issued banknotes. The new banknotes will get an updated design, new security features and the printing process will be made more cost efficient. The new banknotes are expected to last for another 20 years.

The last banknote to be changed will be the 500-forint note. The general public will be able to use upgraded 500 forint notes from 1 February 2019 though the new note will be legal tender from 4 July 2018. Yes, that sounds a bit weird...

Steven Vrijdag 06 Juli 2018 at 4:12 pm | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: ,

Bolivia issues second note of the new series

The Banco Central de Bolivia has issued its second note of the new series: the 20-bolivianos note. 

The new note shows the image of Genoveva Ríos, a girl who rescued the Bolivian flag in Antofagasta in 1879. The second person on the new note is Tomás Katari, a native leader who led one of the first indigenous rebellions in the North of Potosí. And third Pedro Ignacio Muiba, who led another insurrection against his oppressors.

The new note also includes Fort Samaypata, Laguna Bay, the Toborochi tree and the Black Cayman

Steven Vrijdag 06 Juli 2018 at 3:52 pm | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags:

South Africa reveals its commemorative set

The South African Reserve Bank annnounced earlier this year that a special commemorative banknote series would be issued thuis year, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela. 

In a press release dated 13 June 2018 the Reserve Bank finally shows the design of this new series. The front of the notes remains the same as the current series. The back of the notes show a portrait of a young Mandela and places connected with his life.

  • 10 rand: Mvezo, the villiage where Nelson Mandela was born as Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela on 18 July 1918. 
  • 20 rand: Soweto, where Mandela lived part of his life and began his prostest against Apartheid.
  • 50 rand: Howick, where Mandela was arrested in 1962.
  • 100 rand: Robben Island, where Mandela spent part of his prison sentence.
  • 200 rand: Pretoria, where the 9 m high statue of Nelson Mandela is placed in the Union Buildings grounds.

The new series will be issued from 18 July 2018.  





Steven Maandag 25 Juni 2018 at 12:44 pm | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: , ,

South Sudan to introduce new 500-pound note

The Bank of South Sudan (don't bother clicking the link, they still haven't got a proper website) has announced it will introduce a new 500-pound note "soon". The introduction of the new 500-pound banknote, which will be the highest-domination note in circulation in the country, comes as a direct result of the soaring inflation four-and half-year after the beginning of civil war. 

On the black market at the moment, one U.S. dollar is exchanged for 300 South Sudanese pounds.

Steven Maandag 25 Juni 2018 at 12:32 pm | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: ,

Macedonia to be renamed to North Macedonia?

Macedonia and Greece have finally signed an agreement regarding the name of Macedonia. Officially Macedonia is called the Republic of Macedonia but because Greece also has a region within its borders called Macedonia, they didn't accept their neighbors using this name. So when Macedonia became a member of the United Nations in 1993 the country was admitted under the provisional description "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" sometimes abbreviated as FYROM. Not really a catchy name... 

On 12 June 2018 an agreement was reached between Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev, where the Republic of Macedonia could be renamed the "Republic of North Macedonia". Zaev has stated his intent to put the new name to a referendum before officially renaming the country.

If the new name is officially adopted, this will probably also mean a new name on the (North) Macedonian banknotes.

Update: I've switched off the reactions. My site isn't the place for political propaganda, there are plenty of other websites for just that. 

Steven Maandag 25 Juni 2018 at 12:13 pm | | news |
Gebruikte Tags: , ,

Sudan issues new 50-pound note

The Central Bank of Sudan has issued a new 50-pound note to combat the many counterfeited bills of the previous issue. 

The new banknote is dated 2018 and the dominant colors are rose and violet blue. The front of the note shows the Central Bank building and three gold bars, with a sailboat in the back. In the top left it has the value "50" printed with optical variable ink that changes from golden to green.

I wonder what the note looks like in reality. The picture below looks like it has been through a few cycles in the washing machine.  

Steven Zondag 10 Juni 2018 at 12:03 pm | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: ,

Azerbaijan introduces new 200-manat note

There have been several rumours about bigger denominations in Azerbaijan. None turned put to be true. But now the Central Bank of Azerbaijan has indeed introduced a new denomination of 200 manat. 

The US company Crane Currency won the contest on development of the new currency design. The currency, that incorporates progressive security features, was printed by Giesecke+Devrient

The motif of the new note is the ‘Heydar Aliyev Center’ constructed to the memory of 'National Leader' Heydar Aliyev. The new banknote features the image of the Heydar Aliyev Center, the main exterior and interior design elements, elements of national carpet samples and other national ornaments.

Steven Zondag 27 Mei 2018 at 2:03 pm | | news | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags:

Beautiful new notes from Mujand

In 1642 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to see the islands he named Staten Land which was renamed in 1645 to Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook anglicised the name to New Zealand. The coat of arms of the Dutch province of Zeeland shows a half-drowned lion referring to the history of floods (seen on the right). The most recent one happened in 1953 when a catastrophic flood killed over 1800 people in Zeeland and led to the construction of the protective Delta Works.

It is very fitting that the new fantasy series from Mujand, which is called Zealandia, has a major water theme. Zealandia is called "Earth's Hidden Continent". The front of the notes show a flood scene, beautiful women, a very cool seaweed & bubble hologram strip, unique serial numbering and continent topography. The back of the note seems a bit empty on first glance until you realize it shows underwater images and acurately captures the tranquillity and serenity of the underwater world. The notes are printed on polymer, have nice colors and crisp images and come in four denominations. An example of one of the notes can be seen below. The full set can be seen here or ordered here

Two previous issues have been given an extra note. First is the O-series of Toroguay with a 50-lixo note. The second series is the F2-series of the Tobacco Notes of the Poneet Islands. A 25-kasatu note is now also for sale making this the third note from this series.


Maybe you're reading this and thinking: "what the hell is this guy talking about?? Toroguay, Tobabbo Notes... wait, WHAT?!" Both series are made by the very talented fantasy note designer Celsus Solar and are part of the fantasy world of Mujand. In this world we have on the one hand Blissdane Naive (a fictional planet hosting a variety of nations) and on the other hand Earth with several fantasy series from different countries. 

There is a huge variety in notes, stories and artwork. The beauty of these notes can be seen in several series. One of these is the first note (of many I hope) from Yellowstone National Park. The use of colors, the chosen animals and natural phenomena are spot-on. I could totally see these notes selling in the visitor centers at the different National Parks. 

All these notes and previous series can be bought in the Mujand Shop

Disclaimer: these fantasy sets were sent for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.

Steven Zondag 27 Mei 2018 at 1:04 pm | | new additions | Geen reacties
Gebruikte Tags: , ,

Ulster Bank presents new vertical banknotes

The Ulster Bank has presented its new banknotes of 5 and 10 pound as reported by various sources like The Irish Times.  The new notes will have a design feature unique to currency in Britain and Ireland: they will have a vertical orientation. 

The five pound note features pictures of Strangford Lough and Brent Geese while the ten pound version shows Lough Erne, an Irish hare and Guelder-rose shrubs. The notes also feature culinary delights associated with the north, namely a king scallop and an Ulster Glade potato.

Another remarkable design feature is the little 'tab' on the top of the note. It took me a few takes before I realised it was part of the front of the note and not a partially-cut piece of an image of the back of the note. 

There are people worrying that the notes won't be accepted outside Northern-Ireland but the Ulster Bank stressed all banknotes from the north are legal currency in the UK "and will be able to be used for cash transactions across the UK."

The new notes are expected to be issued into circulation early 2019. 

Steven Vrijdag 25 Mei 2018 at 12:41 pm | | news | Geen reacties