The Central Bank of Hungary is busy replacing all its banknotes. Last year we saw the new 10,000-forint note and now the Bank has announced it will replace its highest denomination, the 20,000-forint note, in December 2015.
Coinworld reports: "The note will keep its predecessor’s 154- by 70-millimeter size and the basic design that was first issued in 2001 with a 1999 date. The most obvious difference in the new note is a change in its central color to a greenish-blue from a reddish-gray.
The portrait of legendary 19th century statesman Ferenc Deák (1803 to 1876) will remain on the face side, as will the old House of Commons in Pest on the back. Deák, known as the “Sage of Hungary,” was a leading fighter for improvement in the conditions of the Hungarian peasantry, and the architect of the Compromise of 1867 that led to union between Austria and Hungary under Emperor Franz Joseph."
"The notes have had the usual panoply of modern security features ever since their inception: Intaglio and microprinting, security thread and fibers, a see-through register, ultraviolet features, fluorescence, optically variable ink, and holographic foil. An addition for 2015 is iridescent printing."
"The new note will be put into circulation in mid-December, at which time the bank will offer specimen and low-numbered notes for sale."
"This is the second of the current series of Hungarian bank notes to be revised. A new 10,000-forint note was introduced last year. It is expected that the 500-, 1,000-, 2,000-, and 5,000-forint denominations will be replaced by 2018."
"Hungary’s bank note paper is made from cotton and is manufactured by Diósgyor Paper Mill Ltd. Notes are printed by the Hungarian Banknote Printing Shareholding Company and designed by Károly Vagyóczky."
The Sveriges Riksbank has issued the first four new banknotes of the new banknote series. The 20-, 50-, 200- and 1,000-krona banknotes have been issued on 1 October 2015. The 100- and 500-krona banknotes will become legal tender on 1 October 2016.
The following themes and portraits have been used for the first new notes:
The Banco de la República in Colombia has announced plans to issue a whole new series of banknotes including a new 100,000-pesos banknote. The new notes will be gradually introduced in 2016 and co-circulate with the existing notes.
The design and denominations are the following:
2,000 pesos: Painter Débora Arango, with Caño Cristales River on the back.
5,000 pesos: Poet José Asunción Silva, with a view of the "páramos colombianos," an eco-system on the back.
10,000 pesos: Antropoligist Virginia Gutiérrez, with the Amazonian forest on the back.
20,000 pesos: Former president Alfonso López Michelsen, with canales de La Mojana, and a "sombrero vueltiao" which is a traditional hat.
50,000 pesos: Writer Gabriel García Márquez, with "Ciudad Perdida" on the back.
100,000 pesos Former President Carlos Lleras Restrepo, with Valle del Cocora and "Palma de cera" which is the national tree of Colombia.
The schedule for the introduction of the new notes is:
1st quarter of 2016: 100,000 pesos
2nd quarter of 2016: 20,000 pesos
3rd quarter of 2016: 50,000 pesos
4th quarter of 2016: 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 pesos
A video (in Spanish) presenting the new family of notes:
The National Bank of Argentina has announced that a redesigned 5-pesos note will be issued from 1 October 2015. The note still bears the image of general Jose de San Martin (1778 - 1850) in military uniform but with a new portrait. We can also read the line "Para defender la causa de la Patria no hace falta otra cosa que orgullo nacional" which Google translates into "To defend the cause of the Fatherland we do not need anything other than national pride" which sounds like a reasonable translation.
The back of the note is completely redesigned and shows a couple of South American heroes: Jose de San Martin, Jose Gervasio Artigas, Simon Bolivar and Bernardo O'Higgins. The back also reads the quote: "Divididos seremos esclavos, unidos estoy seguro que los batiremos: hagamos un esfuerzo de patriotismo, depongamos resentimientos particulares, y concluyamos nuestra obra con honor". Our beloved Google translates this as: "Divided we will be slaves, together I am sure that we will win: make an effort of patriotism, strip off private resentments, and conclude our work with honor". Again: sounds like a good translation but if anybody knows a better one, please say so.
The watermark shows Jose de San Martin again with JSM in eletrotype. The number 5 can be seen on the front in iridescent ink. On the back of the note the letters JSM cab be seen in the neck of the uniform of Jose de San Martin when seen under oblique light.
The new note will circulate side-by-side with existing notes and has the same dimensions.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has announced the date of the introduction of the first two new notes from the new series. The 5- and 10-dollar notes will be issued on 12 October 2015. The other three notes (20-, 50- and 100-dollar) will be released in April 2016 but have no definitive date.
The new series are a bit brighter than the current series and include more Maori designs and language. You can view the new series in this previous post.
While we're all waiting for the new 20-euro note to be issued in November of this year, there is also news about the next European note to be modernized. The new 50-euro note, which will probably be issued at the end of 2016, will be printed in Leipzig, Germany. Giesecke & Devrient has won a European tender to print the new note, according to MDR Sachsen.
The current factory in Munich will be operational until October 2015 but then the banknote printing division of the company will move to the newly build bigger factory in Leipzig.
The Central Bank of Cape Verde has issued the final two notes of the new series on 10 September 2015. The notes of 500- and 5,000-escudos follow the first three notes which have been issued on 23 December 2014.
Here are the images of the new notes (via). I like the colors of the 5,000-escudos:
The Bank of Canada has introduced a special 20-dollar banknote commemorating the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen made history this week by beating the record of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning sovereign.
The commemorative bank note is a variation of the existing 20-dollar polymer note that already features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The new note is identical to the current note, with one distinct difference: its large window contains a range of special design elements, including a portrait of Her Majesty wearing a crown (tiara) for the first time on a Canadian bank note. The portrait is based on a 1951 image by renowned Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh – the same photograph that inspired the portrait engraving of the Queen, without the crown, for the 1954 Canadian Landscape series of banknotes and the 1967 commemorative note celebrating the centenary of the Canadian Confederation. Since her accession to the throne in 1952, an image of Elizabeth has appeared on every series of Canadian banknotes.
The Bank of Canada will issue 40 million commemorative notes, the first of which will start to be available at financial institutions across Canada tomorrow. They will circulate alongside the existing 20-dollar note, which will continue to be issued and will comprise the vast majority of 20-dollar notes in circulation.
This is the third time that the Bank of Canada has issued a commemorative note. The first, issued in 1935, celebrated the Silver Jubilee of King George V; and the second, issued in 1967, marked the centennial of Confederation. The Bank has also announced that it will issue a commemorative bank note to mark Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017.
The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced that the new 5- and 10-pound notes will be printed on the polymer substrate Durasafe Safeguard produced by De la Rue. [Edit: that's what you get when you first read a story about Durasafe and then write a post. To be clear: it's Safeguard, NOT Durasafe. Comment below is of course absolutely right].
Clydesdale Bank and Bank of Scotland are already making the transition and the Bank of England is to introduce the plastic notes from next year. The Royal Bank of Scotland said it was to re-design its notes with new subjects for portraits. The £5 note should be in circulation from the second half of 2016. The £10 note will be in use a year later. The polymer notes will be 15% smaller than the cotton paper variety circulating right now.
The Bank of the Republic of Burundi has issued a new 1,000-francs note completing the new series which was introduced earlier this year. Unfortunately like the rest of the series this note also isn't a very spectacular design. I wonder what the color will look like in real life because on my screen it can best be described as boring-green in my opinion.
The Bank of England has announced that, after the 5 and 10-pound note, the future 20-pound note will also be printed on polymer.
"The polymer £5 note featuring Winston Churchill will be issued in autumn 2016, the £10 polymer note featuring Jane Austen entering circulation a year later. The Bank made the decision to move to polymer for the £20 note following extensive research into the developments in security features for notes printed on cotton-based paper and polymer since the 2013 decision was made. A competitive tender process for the supply of the polymer for the £20 note is expected to start in late 2015. The note, which will feature a visual artist nominated during the public nominations period held earlier this year, will enter circulation in 3-5 years’ time."
The final artist renditions we saw in november 2014 have turned out to be the same as the final result. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has introduced the first two new banknotes which will be issued in October 2015. These notes are the 5- and 10-dollar. The new series, which is called Brighter Money, will be completed in April 2016 with the issuing of the 20-, 50- and 100-dollar notes.
There are a few differences with the current circulating series. The new notes have a brighter, clearer design, with the note's value shown in larger print and greater colour contrast between notes. Some things will stay the same, though: the notes will stay the same size as they are now, and will still have the same flexible, plastic feel.
The themes of the notes will also remain the same, with the same respected New Zealanders, the Queen, and flora and fauna remaining central to the designs. The contribution each has made to the unique culture of New Zealand is still as important as ever. To enhance this even further, the new notes use te reo Maori to identify them:
Aotearoa – the Maori name for New Zealand
Te Putea Matua – the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Maori name
The names of the native birds on the reverse of the notes (hoiho, whio, karearea, kokako, mohua) will continue to be written in Maori.
There are also new and improved security features on the notes:
A larger window features a more detailed metallic element
The native bird icon changes colour as the note is tilted, and a bar can be seen moving through the space
A small 'puzzle number' lines up when the note is held up to the light
Raised ink is still used on the large denomination number.
Reserve Bank deputy governor Geoff Bascand spoke to media at the launch of the new notes in Wellington and was asked if the redesigns could be the last. "It is possible. People are speculating and talking about becoming a cashless society, but we haven't seen it yet. Funnily, cash is still growing, quite rapidly. I suppose that is partly the tourism industry - people come to New Zealand and want to use cash. It is also handy and used in all sorts of ways."
Let's hope he's right because it would be a loss to the world if we wouldn't have these beautiful notes anymore!
Venezuela is dealing with extreme inflation causing the Venezuelans to have to carry around enormous amounts of cash when they want to buy something. This has prompted the government to issue new banknotes at the end on 2015 (after the elections on 6 December). The new notes will be of 500 and possibly 1,000 bolivars.
Some news from Gibraltar is a nice opportunity to display their nice flag for the first time. Banknotenews reports that the tiny rock at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea will issue a new banknote in the first half of 2016 August 2016. From banknotenews:
"The [100-pound] note will be dated 21 August 2015, the centenary of the birth of Sir Joshua Hassan. Nicknamed "Salvador" (Saviour), Sir Joshua was chief minister for a total of 22 years and is credited as being the most important architect of Gibraltar’s move towards self-determination. The design of this, the first 100-pound note ever to be printed on polymer substrate, carries a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and a portrait of Sir Joshua on the other."
Here's an image of the new note and it looks pretty purple or pink. Luckily they used a better picture of the man than the one on wikipedia.
Update 31-7-2016: the latetst news is that this note will be issued in September according to the Treasury Department of Gibraltar.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued 6 new notes on 20 AUgust 2015 commemorating the 50th anniversary of Singapore. The set contains a $50 polymer note and five $10 polymer notes. From the press release: "The note designs drew inspiration from significant milestones and achievements in Singapore’s history, the multiracialism that defines us as a nation, and the values and aspirations that underpin Singapore’s progress. The front of both the $50 and $10 notes feature the portrait of Mr Yusof Ishak, Singapore’s first President, as in the current Portrait series notes.
The $50 note highlights Singapore’s history, transformation and future. It shows the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first Prime Minister, shouting "Merdeka!" – the rallying cry of our independence struggle. The note makes distinctive use of the colour gold, reflecting Singapore’s Golden Jubilee.
The five $10 notes have a common front design and varying back designs depicting the theme ‘Vibrant Nation, Endearing Home’. Each note reflects a value or aspiration that defines this theme:
‘… regardless of race, language or religion…’
‘Opportunities for All’
‘Safe and Secure’
‘Strong Families’
‘Caring Community, Active Citizenry’.
Both the $50 and $10 notes have security features that are the first of their kind in the world to be used on a currency note. The security stripe on the $50 note has a unique see-through feature with “image movement effects” that create depth to the image of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. The SG50 logo has “colour-switching effects”, with the year flipping from ‘1965’ to ‘2015’. The $10 notes have a security stripe with a “switching effect” which features the Singapore Coat of Arms, SG50 logo and the years ‘1965’ and ‘2015’.
The SG50 commemorative notes were designed by four local artists and designers, namely Mr Chua Mia Tee, Mr Eng Siak Loy, Mr Weng Ziyan and Mr Fabian Lim.
The public can exchange the SG50 commemorative notes at face value at branches of nine major retail banks from 20 August 2015 onwards. (...) A total of 20 million pieces of the $50 notes and 75 million pieces of $10 notes - 15 million pieces of each design - are being printed.(....) From 1 October 2015 onwards, the SG50 notes will be made available to non-Singaporeans as well.
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 Central Bank of Hungary is busy replacing all its banknotes. Last year we saw the new 10,000-forint note and now the Bank has announced it will replace its highest denomination, the 20,000-forint note, in December 2015.
The 
The 
The 
The 
The 
The 
The Royal Bank of Scotland has 
The 
The 
Venezuela is dealing with extreme inflation causing the Venezuelans to have to carry around enormous amounts of cash when they want to buy something. This has prompted the government to issue new banknotes at the end on 2015 (after the elections on 6 December). The new notes will be of 500 and possibly 1,000 bolivars.
Some news from Gibraltar is a nice opportunity to display their nice flag for the first time. Banknotenews reports that the tiny rock at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea will issue a new banknote in
The 
