The Central Bank of Bahrain has issued updated notes of 10- and 20-dinar. The updated notes have enhanced security features (like SPARK and Motion thread) and the notes have lines added for the visually impaired. The rest of the design is the same as the existing circulating notes.
Contrary to earlier reports the Banco Central de Bolivia has announced that for the new banknote series NO note of 500-bolivianos will be issued. That note would have been the only new denomination in the next series which was announced in May 2016 and will be issued to the public in 2018.
So that makes the design of the new notes as follows:
The Jakarta Post has an article about the next Indonesian banknote series to be issued later this year by the Bank Indonesia (although that is hard to believe considering earlier reports that a new series won't be issued until 2020). President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has decided the portraits of 12 national heroes will feature on the new series. The new notes will also be issued in the name of "Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia" (The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia) instead of the "Bank Indonesia".
The following 12 people will be honored on the new banknotes:
The exact issue date is not known as far as I could tell but apparently there are no plans for a redenomination.
Update 16-12-2016: the Jakarta Globe reports that the new notes will enter circulation from 19 December 2016.
The Bank of Russia has announced the shortlist of 10 selected designs eligble to be on the new 200- and 2,000-ruble notes. For these two notes the Russian public was asked for the first time to nominate cities and regions to be portrayed on the new banknotes.
The final 10 cities/regions and the symbols representing those places are (links added by me):
The two winning themes will be announced on 7 October 2016. The new notes are expected to be issued at the end of 2017.
My personal favorites which I think would make the most interesting banknotes are the Far East (yay, space notes!) and Irkutsk themes.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has issued the first banknote of its new series of banknotes on 1 September 2016. Below is a video of the new 5-pound banknote 'in action'.
I'm still not too crazy about the colors they used (remember the 'clown puke'?) but it looks a lot more interesting compared to the photos we saw earlier this year.
On the 30 August 2016 the euro celebrated the fact that 15 years ago the euro banknotes were first shown to the public by the first president of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg.
Whatever your opinion is on the euro, Europa or the EU, this was absolutely a historic day.
The island state of Vanuatu is in the process of switching to a new family of banknotes. The first new notes of 200-, 1,000- and 2,000-vatu have already been issued. The 500- and 5,000-vatu notes would follow in the future.
MRI Bankers' Guide now reports that the tender process is about to be completed and the new notes are expected to be issued mid 2017. The new series is produced by the french company Oberthur on a polymer substrate from Innovia from Australia.
As previously announced Gibraltar will issue a commemorative 100-pound banknote honouring Sir Joshua Hassan in September. The final design has now been revealed to the world and I must say, it looks pretty nice.
From Your Gibraltar TV: "The new polymer banknotes have been produced by De La Rue and printed on Safeguard® substrate. The design will be similar to the existing paper banknote but with a large clear window showing a hologram which can be seen from both the front and back of the note and which will be highly reflective, showing images of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the letter G for Gibraltar.
Using Advanced Image Plane holography, the hologram on the note will offer high levels of security against counterfeiting whilst simultaneously showcasing all the clarity, colour, movement and true depth achievable on a polymer substrate."
The new note will be issued in September 2016.
The National Bank of Ukraine has announced a new commemorative note of 20 hryvnia to be issued from 1 September 2016. The new note commemorates the 160th birthday of Ukrainian poet and writer Ivan Franko. It has a portrait of him on the front and the Lviv opera house on the back.
A total of 1 million notes will be issued with 20,000 pieces sold in a special folder as a numismatic product. The new notes have Ukrainian flax added for cost reduction and to strengthen the notes. Flax is also used to make linen for instance and linseed oil.
After the click you can find a video (in Ukrainian) from the presentation of the new note.
The Banco de la República in Colombia has announced that from 19 August 2016 the new banknote of 50,000-pesos will be issued. The new note has the image of Colombia writer Gabriel García Márquez on it. Two images in fact: one close-up and one standing with butterflies. The back shows two standing native people, Ciudad Perdida (an ancient city in Colombia's Sierra Nevada) and a nautilus shell.
This is a note I was really looking forward to. The final design however is somewhat disappointing to be honest. It feels a bit empty. With all the themes in Márquez' books I think the banknote could've been much more interesting. It feels a little unfinished now.
The Bank of Thailand has issued a press release announcing a new commemorative banknote. Thailand has A LOT of commemorative notes already but I'm not complaining as I am quite a fan of their banknote design. And this is another beauty.
This 500-baht banknote commemorates the 7th cycle birthday anniversary of Queen Sirikit of Thailand (12 August 1932). From the press release:
"The color, size, and the image on the front side of this 500-Baht commemorative banknote are identical to the 16th series of 500-Baht banknote.
The main element on the reverse side depicts the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit in Thai Boromphiman costume. Other elements include the Royal family image, Her Majesty with the Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Center products, the Royal Emblem, Khon performance, Lygodium products, and the flowers named after Her Majesty, which are Queen Sirikit Cattleya and Queen Sirikit Rose.
The special feature for this 500-Baht commemorative banknote is located on the reverse side. The radial pattern behind the portrait of Her Majesty and Queen Sirikit Rose will illuminate yellow when viewing [sic] under ultraviolet light."
Exactly 20 million pieces of the new note will be issued on 11 August 2016.
Morocco is preparing to (re)introduce the Amazigh language of the Berber people on al its official banknotes. This includes all banknotes. The Amazigh language was banned in favor of the Arabic language in 1984 by King Hassan II. His son, King Mohammmed VI, is slowly changing some of the old laws in Morocco.
The Berber language is spoken in North Africa, mainly Morocco, Algeria, Libya, northern Mali and northern Niger. There are also smaller Berber-speaking populations in Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Egypt and Mauritania, and Berber-speaking Moroccan and Algerian immigrants of about 2 million in: France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Italy, Canada and USA.
The Central Bank of Liberia has released a statement announcing a new family of banknotes. This new family will be issued "shortly". All the portraits have been kept the same but the security features have been improved. Also, the new series will be printed on a new substrate. Last, a new denomination of 500 dollars will be introduced.
Here are some first pictures:
The Banco Central de Sao Tome e Principe has plans to redenominate its national currency of the dobra. This move would result in banknotes with three zeros less. According to the constitution such a decision would have to be approved by the National Assembly and they haven't dicussed it yet. The printing process however has supposedly already started.
More details of the Swiss 100-francs note which is due for 2019 have been revealed. The theme for this note will be 'Water' and the main color of the note will, of course, be blue.
According to this article from TheLocal.ch the note will feature two hands holding water. Another striking design element will be an image of the historic bisse d’Ayent, an irrigation channel unique to the canton of Valais. "The channel, built in 1442, connects the villages of Ayent and Grimisuat above the ski resort of Crans Montana and is a particularly impressive example of a bisse. Dating back centuries, the bisses were constructed to irrigate pastures at altitude in the Valais and as such, many follow spectacular routes, taking the water along hanging wooden structures tacked on to the sheer rock walls with a vertiginous drop below. Many have been restored and are now popular hiking routes."
Recently the new 50-francs note was issued as first banknote of the new series. The next banknote will be the 20-francs note due for spring 2017 with the theme of 'Light'.
