The Bank of England has announced that former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) will feature on the new 5 pound banknote. Bank of England Governor, Sir Mervyn King, made the announcement, and revealed the image of Churchill which will be used, to members of the Churchill family at Chartwell, Churchill’s former home. Churchill will replace the current face of the 5 pound note, social reformer Elizabeth Fry who has been on the banknote since 2002.
Commenting on the choice, the Governor said: "Our banknotes acknowledge the life and work of great Britons. Sir Winston Churchill was a truly great British leader, orator and writer. Above that, he remains a hero of the entire free world. His energy, courage, eloquence, wit and public service are an inspiration to us all. I am proud to announce that he will appear on our next banknote."
The plan is for the Churchill note to be issued as a £5 note, and that it shall be issued during 2016; but those choices may be reviewed as plans for issuing the new note are finalised. Features of the design on the reverse of the note will include:
A portrait of Winston Churchill from a photograph taken in Ottawa by Yousuf Karsh on 30 December 1941.
A view of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower from the South Bank looking across Westminster Bridge, acknowledging that for almost sixty years Westminster was Churchill’s life.
The image of the Elizabeth Tower with the hands of the Great Clock at 3 o’clock – the approximate time on 13 May 1940 when Sir Winston Churchill declared in a speech to the House of Commons: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." This declaration is quoted beneath the portrait.
A background image of the Nobel Prize medal which he was awarded in 1953 for literature, together with the wording of the prize citation. Churchill was awarded the Nobel prize for literature ‘for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values’.Although Churchill was a prolific writer, the Nobel prize acknowledged the power and effect of his inspirational oratory as much as the quality of his literary output which ranged from journalism to works of academic standing. His writings include The Second World War (1948-53) and A History of the English Speaking Peoples (1956-8).
A short bio on Winston Churchill (yes, he is somewhat of a hero to me, so forgive this lengthy article):
After an early career as a soldier and war correspondent, Churchill was elected as a Conservative MP in 1901, but joined the Liberals after the Conservative Party split over free trade. Having served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, and First Lord of the Admiralty where he helped modernise the navy, he returned to the army, serving on the Western Front, in 1916. Back in Parliament in 1924, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin’s Conservative government. After the fall of the government in 1929 he did not hold office for a decade, his so-called 'Wilderness Years'. He warned of the threat of German re-armament and returned to public life as First Lord of the Admiralty on the outbreak of the Second World War.
In May 1940 he became Prime Minister, replacing Neville Chamberlain and leading the newly-formed National Government. In his first speech to the new Administration he declared: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." And concluded with: "Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength." Both are examples of the brilliance of his oratory. Winston Churchill became a patriotic icon, exemplar of leadership and a national inspiration during the Second World War. Defeated in the post-victory 1945 general election, he argued strongly for Western unity against the threat of Communism. He was returned to office in 1951 and finally retired in 1955, aged 80.
Churchill’s leadership qualities earned him a vast international following, especially in the United States where he was given the singular honour of being granted honorary US citizenship (in 1963) and in 1999 became the first Briton to have a US warship named after him. He has been portrayed on the postage stamps of 150 nations.
Chartwell, the family home in Kent, which he purchased in 1922, was where he was able to relax and enjoy family life and the company of friends. It was there that his lifelong love of the land and animals found fulfilment on his smallholding, which included goats, pigs, birds and butterflies. His other interests ranged from painting to bricklaying, but it was writing which provided the constant thread throughout his life and a source of income. In 1953 he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature.
In the course of his lifetime Churchill received thirty-seven orders, decorations and medals including Companion of Honour (1922), Order of Merit (1946), and Order of the Garter (1953). He died on 24 January 1965 and was given a state funeral, the first commoner to be so honoured since Gladstone in 1898. He was also the first commoner to be portrayed on a British coin – the 1965 crown or five shilling piece.
The US Federal Reserve Board has officially announced that the newly designed 100 dollar note will be issued on 8 October 2013. The new note will have several new security features, like a blue 3D ribbon.
The new banknote had been plagued by production problems. More information on the new banknote can be found on the official site newmoney.gov or check out the video the Federal Reserve made below:
In the UK a debate is going on about what to do with the Scottish pound if Scotland would choose independence from the United Kingdom. The Guardian discusses some options: keep on using the British pound, join the Euro or issue a separate Scottish currency.
Scotland will hold a referendum on the issue for independence on 18 September 2014. See the wiki for more information.
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.
After a few days vacation during which I haven't seen a single new banknote (partly because I never crossed the border) I've now returned for some catching up.
For instance with the news from Poland where the National Bank of Polandplans to issue banknotes with new security features in April next year. Apart from the updated security features the design of these banknotes (with portraits of Polish monarchs from the past) will remain the same.
Al Arabiya reports: "An Arab buyer in London has paid £65,000 (almost $100,000) for a rare Palestinian banknote that was auctioned this week in the British capital. The note, which was offered by Spink Auctions on Thursday, appeared for the first time in 40 years and was on sale with another 1,690 rare notes, many of them Palestinian.
The notes go back to the years between 1929 and 1944, before the creation of the state of Israel. Many of the other notes were from the Gulf, some dating back to the early stage of the Saudi Arabian state and others issued from Qatar, Dubai, and Kuwait. The 100-pound Palestinian note, issued in 1929, is extremely rare and has attracted great attention at the auction, Ayman Abdou, an expert in rare banknotes said this week.
“The price which the note was sold at is not actually that expensive,” he told Al Arabiya. “At the time, this note could have bought an entire plot of land in the most beautiful parts of Palestine,” Abdou said. Abdou also said the note was particularly special because it remained in good condition, adding that its serial number is “A000000. The notes that have zeros are usually very rare. They are printed to be distributed amongst central banks across the world. This means it had been rare since the day it was issued,” he said.
Spink did not name the names of its sellers and buyers for confidentiality, and so the identity of the Arab buyer has not been revealed. Hundreds of people from the Gulf come to London every year to take part in auctions, according to the executive director of Spink, Barnaby Faull. “They are usually interested in rare objects that come from different parts of the world. People from Qatar and Dubai in particular are mainly interested rare banknotes,” he told Al Arabiya."
The Bank of Papua New Guinea has announced that all paper kina banknotes will be withdrawn by June 2013. After June 2013 these notes will no longer be legal tender. The bank has been announcing to the public that paper banknotes denominations K2, K5, K10, K20, K50 and K100 as well as the K2 coin will be removed from circulation. In their place will be the polymer or plastic notes in the same denominations. Polymer notes in circulation will continue.
Recently I got a few e-mails from other paper money collectors / websites asking if I'm interested in a link exchange. Sure, no problem! Feel free to contact me if you have a site on paper money which isn't already featured in the links section on the right. I would be happy to add your site as well.
The Central Bank of Turkey has announced the introduction of a new 5 lira banknote. The traditional brown colour will be replaced by purple. Apart from the new 5 lira note, the 50 and 200 lira will also be changed but they will only get new signatures. The dimensions and colours of the notes will remain the same.
The following signatures will be shown on the new banknotes:
5 lira: deputy governor Mehmet Yörükoglu along with governor ErdemBasci
50 lira: deputy governor TuralayKenc along with governor ErdemBasci
200 lira: deputy governor Mehmet Yörükoglu along with governor ErdemBasci
The new banknotes will be in circulation from 8 April 2013.
A story on Afghan website Khaama.com claims that Afghanistan has issued new Afghani banknotes for the amount of 100 billion afghanis:
"Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) officials on Tuesday announced that fresh banknotes amounting to one hundred billion Afghanis have recently been printed. DAB officials also informed that the latest specifications have been placed in the new banknotes in a bid to make it easier to differentiate from the fake notes. The officials also added that the Central Bank of Afghanistan remains committed to meet the needs and issues of th Afghan market.
The new bank notes are due to be distributed in accordance with the market demands, DAB officials said adding that the new banknotes have been printing considering the needs of the market for the next five years. A British firm was contracted to print the new Afghan bank notes and the contract was reportedly given to the firm against $20 million. According to reports the Afghan government has also ordered to print another one hundred million Afghanis and the new bank notes will be printed as per the demands of the Afghan market. In the meantime deputy governor for the Central Bank of Afghanistan Khan Afzal Hadawal said the new specifications of the bank notes will remain confidential with the bank while some of the specifications will be made public in the near future. This comes as the residents of Kabul city and other provinces of Afghanistan including the business owners complained of facing issues with the fake bank notes in the market."
As announced in this previous post, Fiji has issued its new banknotes yesterday 2 January 2013. The colourful notes have all been issued except for the 5 dollar banknote. This is the only polymer note in this series and has been delayed until April for unknown reasons. But no worries: the Fiji people have plenty to admire in their new money.
More information and images can be found in this post.
Update 1 April 2013: And now also the polymer 5 dollar has been issued!
The National Bank of Kazakhstan has announced it has issued the new 2000 tenge banknote as of 29 March 2013.
"The obverse side of the banknote is as follows: the prevailing colors are dark green and light green; the prevailing images are vertical. The key images: the monument "Kazak Eli" on the right side of the banknote and images of the flying doves in the bottomcenter. At the bottom of the banknote there is a figure of saiga antelope made with the colorshifting paint. In the upper part there are the images of the symbols of state of the Republic of Kazakhstan: national emblem and state flag. The digital notation of the nominal value is printed on the left side, above and below; on the left center there is a digital notation of the nominal value in the state language. The legend "KAZAKHSTAN ULTYK BANKI" is in the upper left corner; below there is a legend in the state language warning about responsibility for counterfeiting: "Banknottardy koldan zhasau zanmen kudalanady".
The reverse side is as follows: the prevailing colors are dark green and light green; the prevailing images are horizontal. The key image is an outline of Kazakhstan map contour with the image of Irtysh River. On the right side there is a holographic band of 13 mm wide with the image of nominal value, a stylized yurt and fragment of the state flag. Lower left, right top and lower right there is a digital notation of the banknote nominal value and in the bottom center there is a literalnotation of the nominal value in the Russian language. A legend is printed in the top middle; in the lower left corner, under the notation of the banknote nominal value, there is a legend “Counterfeiting is prosecuted under the law”.
The Bank of Canada has announced that they will reveal the new 5 and 10 dollar banknotes on 30 April 2013. From promotion clips of already issued banknotes in this series, you can derive that the main colours of the new banknotes will be blue for the 5 dollar and purple for the 10 dollar. No date of issue has yet been given but you can probably expect them later this year.
The Bank of Thailand has announced the release of a new 20 baht banknote for 1 April 2013. The front of the note has the portrait of King Rama IX in the Royal House of Chakri gown. The back has images of the royal statue of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great seated on the Manangkhasila Asana Throne, the invention of the Thai script, the Ramkhamhaeng stele, ancient Thai script Lai Sue Thai, the grievance hearing, the Bell of King Ramkhamhaeng, and Sangkhalok Wares. The date depicted on the note is 2 November 2012.
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 Bank of England has announced that former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) will feature on the new 5 pound banknote. Bank of England Governor, Sir Mervyn King, made the announcement, and revealed the image of Churchill which will be used, to members of the Churchill family at Chartwell, Churchill’s former home. Churchill will replace the current face of the 5 pound note, social reformer Elizabeth Fry who has been on the banknote since 2002. 
The US Federal Reserve Board has officially 
In the UK a debate is going on about what to do with the Scottish pound if Scotland would choose independence from the United Kingdom. The Guardian 
The 
After a few days vacation during which I haven't seen a single new banknote (partly because I never crossed the border) I've now returned for some catching up.
Al Arabiya 
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A story on Afghan website 
As announced in this 
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