"The banknotes will include new tactile features for the blind and sight impaired, engraved in bleed-off intaglio printing on the edge of the banknotes’ short sides. The tactile feature on the AED 100 denomination consists of two horizontal lines, centered around the middle of the right and left short sides of the note, separated by a recognisable distance.
The tactile feature on the AED 50 denomination consists of four horizontal lines next to each other in the middle of the right and left short sides of the note.
The Metallic ink surrounding the UAE emblem on the front top half of the note is replaced by multicolored shifting element for denomination AED 50.
The overall design and other specifications of the two notes are the same as in the currency notes currently in circulation."
Argentine President Cristina Fernández has presented the design of a new 100-peso note. The note is dedicated to the mothers, grandmothers, children and grandchildren of Plaza del Mayo. This square is where the Mothers of the Plaza del Mayo have been gathering to commemorate the people who have vanished during the military dictatorship.
An issue date hasn't been given yet, but personally I can't wait. What a beautiful banknote!
According to several newssites the first polymer note has been introduced in Britain. The 5-pound note from the Clydesdale Bank has been introduced in Scotland and features an image of the Forth Bridge to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the structure. The new note also features a portrait of Sir William Arrol, whose company constructed the bridge among many other landmarks in Scotland. A previous post about this new note can be read here.
One of the most interesting fantasy banknote series is the one from the Mujand Trading Company. Previous posts about their sets can be read here, here and here. What I like about these sets is not only their beautiful and innovative design but especially the whole story and mythology behind them. The fictional planet Blissdane Naïve and the different nations on the planet provide a fascinating backdrop for the different banknote sets.
Now a fifth set has been released, from the nation of Perish Island. The story goes that this island regularly sinks beneath the water and now has submersible houses on it (please read the whole fantastic story of why this happens here). Following this story the banknotes have been made of a waterproof polymer material. The front of the notes shows half of the portraits above water, while the backs shows the other half of the portrait under water. Front and back put together makes the portrait complete. How brilliant is that?
The annual IBNS competition for Banknote of the Year is underway. If you're a member of the IBNS you can still cast your vote here until 29 March 2015. The winner will be announced at the Papermoney Fair Maastricht in Valkenburg aan den Geul which will be held 25-26 April 2015. Below are the nominations of 2014.
Banknotenews mentions two articles dealing with new notes in the Maldives. The first article on Sun.mv states that the Maldives Monetary Authority will replace the 5-rufiyaa note with a coin in 2016, and will introduce a new denomination of 1,000-rufiyaa in October of this year.
The second article (also from Sun.mv) mentions the winner of the competition for designing the new series of banknotes. The winner is Abdulla Nashath. Javaahirumaage, Baa Kendhoo. The new series of notes, which is called Randhihafaheh, will be printed on polymer instead of paper. The 10-, 50-, and 1,000-rufiyaa notes will be issued in October 2015. The 100- and 500-rufiyaa will be issued sometime in 2016.
The two articles don't mention the commemorative note which is also scheduled for this year.
HSBC has announced that a new commemorative note of 150 dollar will be introduced in Hong Kong to commemorate the 150th anniversary of HSBC in Hong Kong.
The notes are available as a single note in a folder, a 3-in-1 uncut set in folder, and a 35-in-1 uncut set. Sets can be ordered by anyone aged 18 or above with a valid Hong Kong Identity Card or passport and a valid Hong Kong correspondence address and phone number. The deadline for applying to buy notes is 21 March 2015. So no luck for me I'm afraid.
Update 16 March 2015: Wow, see what you can do with this banknote!! Virtual reality coming to a banknote near you?
The Bank of England announced on 24 February that the signature of new Chief Cashier Victoria Cleland will begin to appear on notes which will be issued on 3 March 2015. The notes which will include her signature will be the £10, £20 and £50 denominations, with the first “F” series £5 notes bearing the signature of Ms. Cleland to be printed on polymer and introduced into circulation from the second half of 2016.
It was already announced in November 2014 and was expected to be issued before the end of the year, but it seems that the new commemorative 20-dalasi note will finally be issued on 2 March 2015. And not only that: the Central Bank of the Gambia will introduce a whole new series on 30 March 2015 including a new 200-delasi note. Update 05-04-2015: the new family of notes is delayed until 15 April 2015.
From the press release: "Commemorative D20.00 Polymer Banknote. This is the first series of Polymer Banknotes to be issued by the CBG and is intended, among other things, to Commemorate 20 Years of the July 22nd Revolution and to be in line with international best practice.
The Polymer Banknote is based on the existing D25.00 note and therefore similar in many aspects except that the colour background of the D20 Polymer banknote is green and bears the portrait of the President, H.E. Sheikh Professor Alhagie Dr. Yahya. A. J. J. Jammeh. The polymer banknotes have a date of 22nd July 2014 with the words “20 Years of Progress and Self-Reliance” written on the centre bottom of the obverse side of the note.Few critical changes were made to incorporate security features that are unique to only polymer notes to enhance the overall security level of the denomination. However, both the polymer and the current D25.00 notes shall be in circulation side by side and the latter will continue to be legal tender and be in circulation until it is fully withdrawn over time.
Furthermore, the CBG will introduce into circulation a New Family of paper base Gambian Banknotes for all other denominations except the D25.00 which will be replaced by the D20.00 note. These notes will include a New D200.00 denomination. A fundamental distinction is that all the notes are smaller in size and all of them bear the portrait of the President. This new family of banknotes will be circulated nationwide along with the existing banknote family of D100.00, D50.00, D25.00, D10.00 and D5.00 until these are fully withdrawn overtime."
The Bank of Thailand has issued a press release stating that on 26 February 2015 a new banknote of 100 baht will be issued.
I'm particularly happy with this news, because after the flood of commemorative notes we finally get to see a 'normal' note again. Thailand is a personal favourite country to collect so I'm definitely getting this one for my collection. The pictures below are from banknotenews.com.
As a little side note: here's an interesting link on the collection of Jan Olav Aamlid who apparently is also writing a book on the history of Thai banknotes.
Remember the special Malvinas / Falklands banknote Argentina was supposed to issue at the end of 2014? Well, the end of the year came and went, but no new note. I had already skipped it from my calendar because I didn't believe anymore the note would actually be issued.
But to my surprise there is now a site from the Central Bank of Argentina describing the new note. An issue date is still not mentioned but it does say that the new notes will coexist along with the current notes. Another surprise is the picture they show of the new note. Subtle differences can be spotted, like the number 50 inside the sun (where in previous images it showed a smiling face).
I'm putting this note back on the calendar! Let's just say it will probably be issued "later this year". The note will be issued next March.
The new note includes an innovative security feature in the form of a "portrait window" set in the hologram. When the banknote is held against the light, the window becomes transparent and reveals a portrait of the mythological figure Europa, visible on both sides of the note. The new €20 banknote, like the new €5 and €10 notes, also includes an "emerald number" and a portrait of Europa in the watermark.
President Draghi said: "The portrait window is a real innovation in banknote technology. It is the outcome of the Eurosystem’s work to ensure that the euro notes continue to be resilient against counterfeiting. This will reinforce the trust that the 338 million citizens across the euro area place in their banknotes."
And here's a cool video showing all the new features of the new 20 euro note.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has issued a press release stating that in the next generation of banknotes features to aid the vision impaired will be introduced.
"As previously announced, existing features to help the vision impaired tell the difference between different denominations of Australian banknotes will be maintained on the new series. These include: bright colours; large and bold numbers; and different sizes for each denomination of banknote. The Bank will also continue to fund the production of the 'cash test card'. The addition of a 'tactile' feature will further assist people with a vision impairment to tell the difference between denominations."
The campaign for this new series of banknotes was led by 13-year-old Connor McLeod, along with the members of the visually impaired community. In May last year McLeod, who is legally blind, lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against the RBA’s current banknotes, arguing it discriminates against the 300,000 visually impaired people people in Australia. After receiving money for Christmas, and being embarrassed for not being able to tell how much it was, McLeod began a petition for the new banknotes, which attracted to 57,000 signatures and led a meeting with the RBA last November, prompting the this week’s announcement by the RBA. (source)
If you give an artist total freedom in designing new money, you can end up with the most beautiful concepts. Take for example this work by the artist Barbara Bernát who has designed the fictional currency of the Hungarian euro.
The common side of each note features european animals, the other side shows related species of plants.I used the original proportions of the existing euro banknote for my design, as the denomination increases, the size of each banknote is growing. The animals also represent the growth of value.
The higher the denomination, the higher position in the food chain each animal has. She has left out most of the security features to present an image with as much simplicity as possible. One thing she has left on the note is probably also one of the most appealing security features I've ever seen. Holding the note under UV light reveals the ghostly skeleton of the pictured animals!
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 United Arab Emirates Central Bank has issued updated 50- and 100-dirham notes on 9 March 2015 with features for the blind and sight-impaired. From the Emirates News Agency:
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