Coinweek reports: "On April 28, President Donald Trump appointed Jovita Carranza as the 44th Treasurer of the United States. She takes over the position most recently held by Rosa “Rosie” Gumataotao Rios, who served under President Obama from July 28, 2009 to July 8 of last year.
In something of a federal tradition, Carranza is the 16th consecutive woman to hold the post; the first, Georgia Neese Clark, was appointed under President Truman in 1949."
It is unclear for now when her signature will grace the Federal Reserve notes.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has presented its new 20-francs banknote yesterday. This is the second note of the new series after the 50-francs note which was issued last year.
The theme of the red-colored note is creativity, expressed through the key motif of Light. On the front we see a hand which holds a prism through which light is dispersed into various colours. The motif of light is echoed in the constellations over the globe on the front. The background of the note is reminiscent of a kaleidoscope in which colourful patterns are produced through reflected light. The motif of light also plays an important role on the security strip: night-time light emissions are overlaid on a map of Switzerland and the surrounding regions, and the distances between various celestial bodies and the earth are listed in light seconds.
The back of the note has more elements connected with Light. Creativity, as can be experienced at a film festival, is expressed through the projection of light onto a screen. Light reveals the colour of the butterfly’s wings and allows us to behold the rich diversity of nature. The lines on the back of the 20-franc note portray an iris, which regulates the amount of light entering the human eye.
The new 20-francs note will be issued from 17 May 2017.
I think this is a beautiful banknote and a serious contender to win the title of Banknote of the Year again after the 50-francs note won the award for 2016.
The Maldives Monetary Authority has presented its new 5-rufiyaa note which was announced recently. The new note was designed by Abdulla Nashaath who also designed the current 'Randhiha Faheh' series which has been in circulation since 2016.
The new note has the same design theme and is the same size as the other notes in the series. It has a rendering of popular Maldivian footballer Ali Ashfaq (nicknamed Dhangadey) without his face on the front of the note.
The new note will go into circulation in July 2017.
It's now looks like the two new notes will be issued in October 2017. One of the notes will be a polymer note, according to the central bank’s First Deputy Chairman Georgy Luntovsky.
On a side note: if Russia was still a part of the USSR we would have seen quite different banknotes I think, marking the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution (or November Revolution in the New Style) in October/November of this year.
Update 11-10-2017: the notes will be presented on 12 October 2017 and could be issued before the end of the year.
The Banque Central de Madagascar is preparing to issue a new series which will include a new banknote of 20,000 ariary at the end of 2017. This would be the highest denomination in the country. The banknotes of Madagascar have always been quite good looking so I'm curious to see what they will come up with it.
Certain sites report that the new highest value note will look like the one shown below but this is obviously a colored and photoshopped 10,000-ariary note so it's completely fake.
The Maldives Monetary Authority introduced its beautiful new series in January 2016 without the 5-rufiyaa note which was going to be replaced by a coin. It now appears that the lowest denomination will be reintroduced after all with a new polymer banknote.
This new banknote will probably be introduced around 10 May 2017 but it is unclear when it will become available although it will not take a long time. Below is the only partial picture published for now.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji has issued a very cool new commemorative banknote. The 7-dollar note has the national Rugby sevens team and their victory at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio as its subject. The note is printed by Oberthur Fiduciaire and is printed in a limited number of 2 million copies. An unknown amount will be sold as a special numismatic product. The note is expected to be sold out very quickly.
This note ticks a lot of boxes for me: I like the unusual amount on the banknote, I like the images used on the note and I happen to like rugby a lot! This sounds like a must-have for me.
The Bank of Canada has revealed what their new commemorative 10-dollar banknote will look like. I expected an epic banknote and they absolutely delivered!
The front of the banknote celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada celebrates 4 leaders from the past: Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir George-Étienne Cartier, Agnes Macphail and James Gladstone (Akay-na-muka). The names of all of Canada’s provinces and territories and the dates when they entered Confederation are repeated in English and French across the top and bottom of the large window. To the left is the Memorial Chamber Arch. This arch is located inside the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. The Memorial Chamber was dedicated in 1927 to all Canadians who died in military service during the First World War. The chamber has since come to honour all Canadian men and women who gave their lives in service to their country. In the back we can see the Hall of Honour. The Hall of Honour is the central corridor of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill.
The back of the note celebrates the natural features of Canada: the coast mountains, the prairies, the Canadian Shield and the Atlantic coast. In the background are the Nothern lights. Several cultural references have been added as well: the assomption sash (a pattern important to the Métis people), an owl's bouquet designed by the Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak, thirteen maple leaves which are linked by their stems represening each of Canada’s provinces and territories and of course the Maple Leaf, the Canadian flag and Canada's Coat of Arms. The banknote will be issued from 1 June 2017.
All in all: in my humble opinion the most beautiful banknote I've seen this year and top contender for Banknote of the Year 2017 as far as I'm concerned.
The Bank of Canada has announced it will unveil the new commemorative banknote celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada at a special press conference on 7 April 2017 at 10:15 am local time (that's 16:15 CET).
I don't know about you but I'm pretty excited about this note, maybe because it's only the fourth commemorative banknote in the history of the Bank. For some reason I expect nothing less than an epic banknote! The new polymer note should be issued from 1 July 2017.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has introduced the new 50-euro banknote on 4 April 2017. This 4th note in the new Europa series has the same color scheme as the old note and also keeps the renaissance themed bridge.
Like the 20-euro note from the second series, the 50-euro also has a portrait window as a new security feature. You can find more information on the new note at the official website Our Money from the ECB.
The governor of the Banque Centrale du Congo (BCC), Deogratias Mutombo Mwana Nyembo, announced on 13 March 2017 new notes for the banknote series from 500 Congolese francs to 20,000 Congolese francs.
Part of the reason for this decision is the massive counterfeiting in Congo. Recent reports mention that 1.2% to 2% of the circulating highest denomination notes of 20,000 Congolese francs is actually false. This was the work of a gang that included a Director of the Banque Centrale du Congo by the name of Paluku, who stole the plates and had the notes printed in a country in Asia.
The banknotes of the new series will have new security features.
The Central Bank of Barbados has issued a special banknote celebrating the island’s golden jubilee. It is basically the same banknote issued in 2013 but with an added logo on the front reading "Barbados 50".
From the press release: "We felt it was important to recognise this milestone in our nation's history with a commemorative note," said Octavia Gibson, Deputy Director, Currency at the Central Bank. "We consider the choice of the $50 apt, not only because of the denomination, but also because it bears the portrait of the Father of Independence, the Right Excellent Errol Barrow." The back of the note also carries a shot of Independence Square in Bridgetown.
Gibson assured the public that while the commemorative note carries the "Barbados 50" logo in the upper right corner of the front of the note, the security features have not changed. "You will see the same watermark, the ghost image of Errol Barrow, when you hold the note up to the light. The bars near the centre of the note still shift from red and green when the note is tilted and then become a complete strip when it is held up, and there is still the holographic foil patch on the right side. The features that people use to authenticate their notes have not changed."
"The Central Bank of Iran plans to print banknotes in smaller sizes, the director of CBI’s Office for Banknote Issuance said.
"CBI is also working on new designs for 50,000-rial and 100,000-rial banknotes," Fars News Agency also quoted Masoud Rahimi as saying on Saturday.
The central bank last week unveiled a new version of 10,000-rial banknotes, which is smaller than the current notes, during President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to the bank."
To be honest: I'm not convinced. The "200-ruble note" shown here looks more like one of the designs entered in the competition. The "2,000-ruble note" looks more finished but I don't immediately recognize the announced themes on this banknote. Perhaps a Russian reader recognizes the places shown on the note?
Update 21-03-2017: I asked and reader Kirill delivers. The notes shown here are indeed fakes. The actual design is still unknown at this point.
The Bank of Ghana has issued (pdf) its new commemorative 5-cedis banknote in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Central Bank.
From the press release: "The design of the GHS5 commemorative note draws inspiration from significant milestones and achievements in Ghana?s socio-political history by one of the illustrious sons of this country, Dr. James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey." A portrait of Dr. Aggrey features on the front. Also on the front is the celebration theme: "Celebrating 60 years of central banking in Ghana 1957 – 2017.", the national coat of arms and the date of "4th March 2017".
The back of the note shows the cowry (shell money) or what is originally called "sedee" from which the national currency "The Cedi" was derived; and the Cocoa pod and Gold Bars which reflects their economic importance to the Ghanaian economy. We also see the FPSO Nkrumah, the drill ship and the oil rig, which represents the economic importance of oil to the Ghanaian economy and a QR-code linking to a website of the Central Bank that explains the details of the national banknotes.
The note is legal tender as well as a collector's item.
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).
Coinweek reports: "On April 28, President Donald Trump appointed Jovita Carranza as the 44th Treasurer of the United States. She takes over the position most recently held by Rosa “Rosie” Gumataotao Rios, who served under President Obama from July 28, 2009 to July 8 of last year. 
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