Bangladesh has released a commemorative note of 25 taka in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Security Printing Corporation. The note has also been released in a special folder as a numismatic product and sold for 100 taka.
A while ago I wrote a post about the large denomination notes from the USA. They go all the way up to the infamous 100.000 dollar banknote with president Woodrow Wilson at the front. It turns out that Great Britain also has a few banknotes with very high denominations.
This article on the BBC website describes the two denominations. One is a note of 1 million pounds known as a 'giant'. But even this expensive piece of paper pales in comparison to the one they call the 'titan': a banknote worth 100 million pound.
They are of course useless if you would want to spend them in a supermarket. They serve as backup for the Scottish and Irish banks who issue their own money. People using these banknotes would know their money is always backed by these giants and titans should the local bank fail.
More info on this fascinating story at the BBC website.
Some news from my own country, the Netherlands. The PvdA, the dutch Labour party which is also part of the government at the moment, has proposed a withdrawal of the 500 euro banknotes from circulation. According to MP Henk Nijboer the largest euro banknote is primarily used by criminals and not by common people like you and me.
Nijboer also points to Canada and the United States where large denominations have been pulled from the market at the advice of crime fighting organisations. This results in the euro slowly replacing the dollar as the number 1 crime currency. Nijboer has asked the dutch Minister of Finance (and newly appointed chairman of the Eurogroup) Dijsselbloem to promote his idea at the European Central Bank.
Just recently I mentioned a possible new 2000 pound banknote for Syria. This was quickly unmasked as a fake design. But now Banknotenews has found a video from Morocco. This video by the Bank Al-Maghrib in Morocco contains brief images of a 1000 pound note as well as a 100 pound note (shown at the 2:40 mark). Neither of them has been issued yet.
And here's the video:
The Russian Central Bank has announced it will issue a commemorative banknote of 100 ruble to celebrate the coming Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. No details have been released about the design of the note only that the note will differ in color from the regular red 100 ruble note.
The last time a country issued a commemorative Olympic note was China for the Olympics of 2008. These notes can still be bought for very high prices on eBay.
The Civil War changed the country more than any other event in U.S. history, and its echoes are very much with us yet in many aspects of American life. Even the paper money we use every day is a consequence of the war.
Very nice article about the US banking system and the development of paper money in the 19th century. You can find the full article here.
Ynetnews.com reports that war-torn Syria will issue a new 2000 pound banknote. It will feature for the first time the image of president Bashar Assad where previously an image of his father was. The new banknote has probably been printed in Russia.
The note will be issued at the beginning of February 2013.
Update: It turns out that the picture shown here is actually a fabrication. Banknotenews has found out that the banknote is a modified Hungarian note of 2000 Forint. It seems that you can't even trust an internet source anymore... 
A few days ago I wrote about the Canadian polymer banknotes which faced with all kinds of criticism and complaints. From serious ones to the more ludicrous. The list seems to grow longer every day. And now a new complaint has been made about the 20 Dollar note.
Sean Blaney, senior botanist of the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, claims that the maple leaf shown on the banknote is not the sugar maple (which is featured on the national flag) but in fact the Norway maple.
"It's a species that's invasive in Eastern Canada and is displacing some of our native species, and it's probably not an appropriate species to be putting on our native currency," Blaney told CBC News.
The central bank said the image on the new bills was purposefully designed not to represent any specific species but rather to be a combination of various kinds. "It is not a Norway maple leaf. It is a stylized maple leaf and it is what it ought to be," said Bank of Canada currency spokesman Julie Girard. Mr. Blaney doesn't buy this explanation and thinks the Bank has made an error.
Below are both leaves. On the left is the Norway maple leaf and on the right is the sugar maple. So who's right?
The 200 Rand I nominated for Banknote fo the Year 2012 is now featured on the IBNS website! You can still nominate your own favourite until 31 January 2013.
I found an interesting article on the site of LANSA, the Latin American Paper Money Society, regarding the Salta Province Bonds from Argentina. Having been issued in 1985 this was so called quasi-money which could only be used in the nothern province of Salta. I also have one in my collection which you can see here.
Radio New Zealand reports that banknotes bearing the signature of new Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler may not be in circulation till the end of next year. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand says all notes produced since Mr Wheeler took over the governor's position will have his signature on them.
But it will take some time to work through a stock of notes bearing the signature of previous governor, Alan Bollard, who left the bank after 10 years last September. A spokesperson said how quickly notes bearing the signature of the new governor will be in circulation, will depend on demand for new notes. Given expected levels of demand it could be late 2014 before the public see notes bearing Mr Wheeler's signature.
Graeme Wheeler was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in September 2012.
Two stories about the preparation for the festivities in Singapore and Macau regarding the Lunar New Year (10 februari 2013). Traditionally people want new and special banknotes as a gift for loved ones... but also to speculate.
Macau has authorised the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) and the Bank of China from 2012 to 2023 to issue a maximum of 20 million special notes with a face value of 10 patacas for the forthcoming Lunar Year of the Snake. Last year with the Year of the Dragon 'only' 10 million notes were printed which led to ridiculous speculation. Especially the banknotes with one or more 8's at the end of the serial number were sold for top prizes.
Singapore in the meantime has a tradition of presenting clean crisp new banknotes to family and friends for Hong Bao, the Lunar New Year. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has urged the people of Singapore to use "good as new" notes instead of the crispy new ones. In the past MAS would print and issue an additional 50 million notes to meet the temporary demand for uncirculated notes, but this was much more than the economy actually needed to function. By encouraging the public to accept these "good as new" recirculated notes, MAS hopes to cut its production costs and is also marketing the effort as good for the environment.
Happy Lunar New Year!
Samoa has issued a new type of their 100 Tala note. The image is more are less the same as the old note but this one has new signatures (Faumuina Tiatia Faaolatane Liuga and Maiava Atalina Ainuu-Enari) and there is pattern visible at the top and bottom of the note which wasn't there before.
Is it just me or does Samoa always nail it with their design? The last series of banknotes is stunning!
Banknotenews reports that Paraguay is going to issue a new 5000 guarani note made from polymer. This will be the first polymer note for Paraguay. According to this post the note will be issued on 14 January 2013. The new banknote appears to be dated 2011, and is probably printed by Canadian Bank Note Company.
Video after the click
The IBNS has published the nominees so far for the Banknote of the Year 2012. The nominees are (in random order):
My personal favourite of these six nominees is the Canadian 50 Dollar which I think is beautiful and innovative. But I'm also missing the gorgeous new notes from South Africa with Nelson Mandela on the front and one of the Big Five animals on the back. So I nominated the 200 Rand note today because I think it's worth at least to be nominated (see image below).
If you also want to nominate a banknote, you can do so until 31 January 2013. Banknotes nominated must have been issued to the public (specimens and non-circulating currencies are inelligble) for the first time during 2012, and must have artistic merit and/or innovative security features.
E-mail banknoteoftheyear@ibns.biz with the details, and your membership number (if possible please include a scan of the front and back of your nomination).
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